Letter - People Power United joins coalition in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.
October 29, 2024
People Power United joined other local, state, and national groups to support an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Behalf of the Gender Justice Movement in United States v. Idaho. Shout out to National Women's Law Center for leading these efforts. Here is the summary and a brief link sent on behalf of our People Power United membership:
The brief urged the Ninth Circuit to reject Idaho’s novel arguments, which would decimate treatment options for pregnant patients experiencing emergencies and further accelerate the exodus of health care providers from areas already considered pregnancy-care deserts, making pregnancy in this country even more dangerous than it already is.
As background, the Idaho state legislature passed an abortion ban in 2020 in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Just two months after the Supreme Court made its erroneous and devastating decision to overturn the longstanding fundamental constitutional right to abortion, the Idaho abortion ban went into effect.
Idaho’s ban directly conflicts with EMTALA, a federal law enacted in 1986 to ensure that no person suffering a medical emergency is turned away from receiving the care they need. Under EMTALA, if a person experiencing an “emergency medical condition” seeks care at an emergency department that accepts Medicare funds, the hospital must provide stabilizing medical treatment. For pregnant people, abortion care can be urgent and necessary stabilizing medical treatment.
On August 2, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit in a federal district court challenging the Idaho abortion ban to the extent that it conflicts with federal law. In short, the DOJ is arguing that Idaho’s law only allows for abortion when a person’s life is at risk, but EMTALA protects a person’s right to abortion care whenever it is necessary to protect their health. Because Idaho's abortion ban prohibits care that EMTALA requires, federal law must preempt the state law. The U.S. District Court agreed, issuing an injunction against the state's abortion ban to the extent it conflicts with EMTALA.
In January 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Idaho's appeal of this decision and allowed Idaho's ban to go fully into effect while its decision was pending. On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court declined to review the merits of the case but reinstated the injunction against Idaho's ban. The Court dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted and sent the case back to the Ninth Circuit.
The brief was filed on October 22, 2024. Click here to view.
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Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry! Check out our 2023 recap post to see how impactful our scrappy People Power United group is!
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