Idaho asks 9th Circuit to restore law protecting life after SCOTUS sends back for review

SEATTLE – The Office of the Idaho Attorney General, with the assistance of attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom, filed its opening brief Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, asking it to stop the Biden-Harris administration from misusing federal law to override Idaho’s Defense of Life Act. Idaho’s law protects the lives of women and their unborn children, preventing doctors from performing abortions unless necessary to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.

In August 2022, the administration sued Idaho, claiming that it could use the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and pay private hospitals to violate Idaho’s protections for life. But as the newly filed brief explains, the federal government cannot pay private parties to circumvent state law. And no conflict exists between EMTALA and Idaho’s law, as both seek to save lives, and neither requires abortions to be performed. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the 9th Circuit for further consideration. That court will hear the case in December.

“Both Idaho’s law and EMTALA seek to protect the lives of women and their unborn children, and the consistency between those laws makes us confident about the future of this case,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “Moreover, the Biden-Harris administration can’t pay private hospitals to wipe out state protections for women and children and force emergency room doctors to perform abortions. Under Idaho’s law, doctors will continue to provide care to women experiencing ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and life-threatening conditions. We are urging the court to end the administration’s unlawful overreach and protect the people’s freedom to preserve life.”

“In EMTALA’s nearly 40-year history, no one thought it required abortion until the administration sought to recreate a federal abortion mandate after Dobbs,” the brief states. “But nothing in EMTALA’s text or history suggests that it preempts Idaho’s Act.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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