Rep. Scholten Responds to Emergency Abortion Supreme Court News
The dismissal does not reverse the Dobbs ruling and does nothing to expand reproductive care access nationally.
WASHINGTON – Today, the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Idaho state officials challenging a lower court ruling to allow doctors to perform abortions in life-threatening emergencies. While the Court could have decided to uphold the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) as federal law, it did not. The narrow decision only applies to the state of Idaho. This decision has no impact on other states’ abortion laws and does not reverse the tragic Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Member of the Pro Choice Caucus and Black Maternal Health Caucus, Representative Hillary Scholten (MI-03), released the following statement:
“For the first time ever, women today have less rights than our mothers and grandmothers. Reproductive care is health care, and pregnant people should not have to be at death’s door to receive the care they need to stay alive. Women in Idaho have not truly secured the right to a life-saving abortion. This dismissal is only “for now” not forever, and no other state that has failed to protect abortion access will be impacted by this decision, which means we are still under constant threat.
“Our rights should not hinge on the whims of this Court. We must federally codify the right to reproductive care and save lives while we have the chance.”