When a pregnant woman encounters a medical emergency, can states prohibit doctors from performing abortions that are necessary to protect the patient’s health, as required by federal law? On remand from the Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit considered whether Idaho’s Defense of Life Act (the “DLA”), which banned all abortions except those necessary to prevent a pregnant woman’s death, was preempted by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Congress created EMTALA to protect patients at Medicare-funded hospitals by requiring doctors to provide stabilizing care in medical emergencies, including abortions, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay for the treatment.
Women Lawyers on Guard Inc. joined an amicus brief arguing that EMTALA, a federal law, preempted Idaho’s statewide abortion ban. The brief explained that allowing Idaho to enforce the DLA would undermine Congress’s intent under EMTALA and jeopardize women’s access to lifesaving emergency care. It also emphasized that the law would impose insurmountable consequences on women, with a disproportionate impact on women of color, who already have an increased maternal morbidity and mortality rate.
On March 13, 2025, the Ninth Circuit dissolved the preliminary injunction barring Idaho from enforcing the DLA, marking a significant setback for women’s health.
To read the amicus brief, please click here.
