Supreme Court Delays Decision on Emergency Abortion Care, Pregnant People Deserve Better
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mattie Goldman, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in the consolidated cases of Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States:
“Abortion is health care, and everyone should be free to make their own decisions about their bodies, their lives, and their health care. No politician should be able to block women or anyone else from emergency medical services. Today’s Supreme Court decision dismisses Idaho’s appeal, which will give Idahoans seeking emergency abortion care a temporary reprieve. However, the Court never should have considered these cases in the first place. The decision leaves the door open for litigation challenging the law’s essential protections to continue. Pregnant people in this country deserve better. As Justice Jackson writes, ‘While this Court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.’”
EMTALA is an important guarantee of stabilizing health care in emergencies for everyone, no matter their race, sex, or gender identity. And people of color — including Black, Latina, Native American, and Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women in particular — are more likely to live in states banning abortion, which makes this law particularly important for people of color. That’s why The Leadership Conference joined an amicus brief in this case and published an explainer ahead of oral arguments. When patients have concerns about their health, we should make it easier for them to receive the care they need — and not let extremist politicians decide what constitutes a medical emergency. Our country is facing a nationwide maternal mortality crisis, especially for Black and Brown pregnant and parenting people. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. It’s vital that EMTALA can continue to play its role in helping pregnant people facing emergencies.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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