U.S. Supreme Court | Susan J. Demas
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Reproductive Freedom for All Michigan on Thursday emphasized that the fight for abortion rights would continue following a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court to return an Idaho abortion case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In a 6-3 decision, justices affirming the decision determined the court had taken up the case too early in the process. According to a report from States Newsroom, the court granted the request to hear the case in January before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could hold its own hearing on an injunction blocking enforcement of the law, which bars emergency room physicians from providing emergency abortion care.
The U.S. Government argued Idaho’s Defense of Life Act, which criminalizes most abortions in the state, violates the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires Medicare-funded hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment for patients with emergency medical conditions, even if they are uninsured or cannot pay for it.
When the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case, it dropped the injunction, leaving Idaho physicians open to prosecution under its criminal ban on abortion, penalized by jail time, fines and the loss of a medical license. The state also allows immediate and extended family members to bring a civil case against doctors for up to $20,000 over an abortion procedure.
However, with the case returned to the lower court, the injunction is back in place, allowing physicians to offer emergency abortion care as the case continues.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sits for a roundtable discussion on reproductive rights in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Vice President Kamala Harris on Feb. 22, 2024. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)
In a statement, Whitmer criticized the court’s decision, saying it abdicated its responsibility to enforce federal law to protect women.
“While I welcome the fact that women in Idaho will be able to receive the emergency medical care they need during the case, because there is a stay in place, this decision — while not a surprise— is disappointing,” Whitmer said.
“Instead of enforcing the clear constitutional rule of federal preemption to require Idaho to allow doctors to treat their patients in emergencies, the Court has twisted itself in knots to find that it couldn’t use the extensive record to reach a decision. This leaves open the real possibility that Idaho will ultimately be allowed to interfere with doctors’ best medical judgment about how to treat their patients,” she said.
Nessel reaffirmed her commitment to combating restrictions on abortion rights and protecting access to reproductive health care.
“While this decision provides a temporary cessation of a very dangerous and deadly law, this fight is far from over. Across the country, abortion opponents are continually attempting to limit women’s reproductive freedoms. We cannot let our guard down on this, or on the many other reproductive care cases pending throughout our nation’s court systems,” she said.
Shanay Watson-Whittaker, Reproductive Freedom For All’s director of Michigan campaigns, said the case stands as an example of the issues at stake in the November election, with former President Donald Trump repeatedly taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion with it, though he has declined to support a national ban on abortion.
“This case is far from over, and the very fact that it is even up for debate in the first place underscores anti-abortion extremists’ cruelty and lack of empathy for pregnant people across this country. It’s a sign of exactly how far anti-abortion extremists are willing to go to roll back our rights and end all abortion access, and a reminder of what is at stake this November,” Watson-Whittaker said.
“Here in Michigan, we are more fired up than ever to protect our rights, and we’re mobilizing our members to ensure reproductive freedom champions win up and down the ballot so we can restore the right to abortion nationwide and protect access,” Watson-Whittaker said.
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