Dear John,

Today the Supreme Court gave temporary relief to pregnant patients in Idaho, but the Court failed to reaffirm once and for all that emergency abortion care is protected by longstanding federal law. While their decision means that pregnant Idahoans can receive emergency abortion care if they need it, this reprieve is temporary and limited in its reach.

What the Supreme Court should have done is make it clear that EMTALA, a longstanding federal law protecting access to emergency care, includes emergency abortion care and preempts abortion bans everywhere. This would have ensured that every pregnant patient, no matter where they live, would be able to get the emergency care they need, including abortion. Instead, the Court punted this question back to the lower courts, opening the possibility that more pregnant people will be denied life and health-saving care in the future.

Idahoans will again be able to access emergency abortion care, at least for now, and that is something to celebrate. But we cannot give this Court credit for this decision. The Court created this crisis in the first place when it overturned Roe and then, again, when it allowed the Idaho criminal abortion ban to go into full effect, needlessly and with dire consequences, as the Court now admits.

We also cannot forget that this decision is part of a wider movement to ban abortion nationwide. Anti-abortion extremists are doing whatever it takes for that to happen, from completely banning abortion in states across the country to attempting to eliminate access to medication abortion to today’s decision, where three justices announced that they are willing to leave patients to bleed in parking lots and force doctors to negotiate with hospital lawyers about whether the loss of one organ is enough harm to get care. And it won’t stop here. This is another step toward their true agenda: banning abortion nationwide, and in every circumstance. And it serves as a reminder of the incredibly hostile landscape we're living in post-Dobbs, where we must fight to maintain even the bare minimum of rights.

We remain committed to putting an end to these cruel and constant attacks on our freedom, health, and equality. We won’t stop until abortion is clearly affordable, widely available, and readily accessible to anyone who seeks it. In fact, NWLC just joined leading reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in making a $100 million investment to create a new federal right to abortion and abortion access. Here are actions you can take to continue the fight to expand abortion access:

1. Tell your senator to confirm all federal nominees who will protect the rights and well-being of pregnant people.
2. Donate to an abortion fund near you that connects people who are seeking abortions with the resources they need to get that care safely.
3. And most importantly, you can help spread the word that people who are seeking abortion can get help. If you or someone you know needs an abortion, you can find one at abortionfinder.org.

In solidarity,

Katie O’Connor
she/her/hers
Director of Federal Abortion Policy
National Women's Law Center