Hi john,

HERE WE GO AGAIN FOLKS!

Today was the big showdown at the Supreme Court between Idaho and the United States over the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

What is EMTALA?
EMTALA is a federal law enacted in 1986 requiring hospitals must treat anyone who shows up in the emergency room– no matter what. And it will come as no surprise to you that we think that should include abortion care.

What’s Idaho’s Problem With It?
Idaho wants to enforce its near-total abortion ban, which permits abortions only in cases where the patient is at death’s door. EMTALA requires emergency rooms to use medical intervention, including abortion to stabilize a patient. Idaho is big mad and is fighting to prohibit doctors from DOING THEIR JOBS.  

What did Idaho have to Say?
Well, the state of Idaho’s Deputy Solicitor General, Josh Turner argued Federal law shouldn’t trump state law. Idaho has its own standard of treatment and should not have to abide by EMTALA to get Medicare money. Ugh. 

How did the Justices Respond?
With questions like “Why are we here?” by Judge Amy Coney Barrett and statements like “Do you concede that with respect to certain medical conditions an abortion is the standard of care?” by Judge Elena Kagan, the right questions were asked but are we confident they will uphold EMTALA? Again, ugh. We will have to wait for June and their decision.

Check Out Our Initial thoughts on Oral Arguments
No matter what happens, you can rely on Abortion Access Front to provide expert insights to help us navigate through the noise. AAF has been closely monitoring the case, and Moji and Lizz, our Feminist Buzzkills, hosted an Instagram live with initial thoughts and analysis. 

Then We Do A Big Deep Dive On The Feminist Buzzkills Pod

We're excited to have attorney, writer, and political commentator for The Nation Elie Mystal join Lizz and Moji to analyze the case further and discuss potential outcomes. By the end of the episode, which drops May 10th, we'll all be well-versed pros!

We are in this together!

Lizz and the AAF team