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Case Update June 27, 2024
The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits but instead sent the case back to the lower courts for further consideration. The Court said Idaho’s law will continue to save lives “in the vast majority of circumstances” as the case continues.
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U.S. Supreme Court

State of Idaho v. United States of America

The Biden administration is trying to override Idahoans’ choice to protect life.

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Case Summary

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The United States government is attempting to use federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, to override Idaho’s Defense of Life Act and force emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

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Behind the Case

Idaho passed the Defense of Life Act to protect the lives of women and their unborn children. But in 2022, the Biden administration sued the state, claiming that a federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires emergency room doctors to perform abortions. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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Supreme Court Allows Most of Idaho Law to Stand as Lawsuit Continues
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Biden Administration Oversteps Its Authority in Lawsuit Against Idaho
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Why EMTALA and Idaho’s Law Both Protect Life
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  • EMTALA was passed by Congress in 1986 to ensure that emergency rooms serve everyone, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. The law explicitly states that emergency rooms must provide care to pregnant women and their “unborn child[ren].”

  • Idaho passed the Defense of Life Act in 2020 to protect the lives of both women and their unborn children, ensuring that doctors do not perform abortions unless necessary to save the life of the mother. The law was set to go into effect in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but in August 2022, the Biden administration sued Idaho, claiming it could use EMTALA to override the state’s law.

  • No. Both EMTALA and Idaho’s law seek to protect everyone’s life and ensure that no one—including an unborn child—is denied care.

  • ADF is assisting Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to defend his state’s law against the Biden administration’s unlawful overreach. Attorneys from the law firm Cooper & Kirk are also assisting the Office of the Idaho Attorney General.

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