Washington, DC – Last week, Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-22) joined 257 Congressional colleagues in submitting an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold federal law and patients’ rights to emergency medical care. Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States are challenging the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires hospitals to provide lifesaving care to patients in medical emergencies, including emergency abortion care.

After the overturning of Roe in 2022, Idaho and other states have enacted dangerous and extreme anti-abortion laws that criminalize doctors for terminating a patient’s pregnancy unless it is “necessary” to prevent the patient’s death. The Biden Administration sued Idaho, arguing that EMTALA overrides the state’s law in circumstances where abortion care may not be necessary to prevent imminent death but still constitutes the necessary urgent stabilizing care for a patient’s emergency medical condition. The U.S. District Court in Idaho agreed, and held that in those critical situations, hospitals must comply with EMTALA and provide abortion care as emergency medical treatment.

In their filing, the lawmakers urge the Supreme Court to uphold the District Court’s decision to ensure patients experiencing medical emergencies receive the care they need.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear both cases this month.

For full text of the letter, click here.

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