MADISON – Today, Wisconsin Family Action joined over 30 other pro-life groups in submitting an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court cases State of Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, in which Idaho is challenging the Biden administration’s interpretation of a statute known as EMTALA – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Idaho’s Attorney General is arguing that the Biden administration has manipulated federal law in order to force ER doctors to perform abortions, which are illegal in Idaho since the Defense of Life Act went into effect with the fall of Roe.
Although Idaho’s abortion ban is compliant with federal law, the Biden administration is arguing that EMTALA supersedes state law and would require ER doctors to provide abortions as a “stabilizing treatment,” not just to save the life of the mother, even though EMTALA never explicitly mentions abortion.
President of Wisconsin Family Action Christine File stated: “Wisconsin Family Action signed onto an amicus brief with over 30 other amici to urge the Court to see the Biden Administration’s ridiculous interpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) for the Trojan horse it is. EMTALA requires a hospital to provide stabilizing care in an emergency for the mother ‘and, in the case of labor, to the unborn child’ before transferring the patient or patients to another facility. The Biden Administration, however, somehow finds a novel federal abortion mandate in that language to create a fabricated conflict with state law to preempt it. The interpretation is laughable on its face if it wasn’t so serious. WFA hopes the Court will take this opportunity to correct the Biden Administration’s absurd interpretation, check the Administrative State’s overreach of power, and allow state legislatures to protect life consistent with the Dobbs decision.”
This pivotal Supreme Court decision will become a national precedent that could allow the federal government to override state abortion bans, such as Wisconsin’s 20-week ban, if the Justices rule in favor of the Biden administration. We strongly urge the court to recognize every state’s authority to enact protections for the unborn, consistent with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling.
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Wisconsin Family Action, Inc. is a statewide organization engaged in strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life, and religious freedom in Wisconsin.
