February 28, 2024

Cassidy, Risch, Colleagues File Bicameral Amicus Brief Supporting Idaho’s Pro-Life SCOTUS Case

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Jim Risch (R-ID) and U.S. Representative Russ Fulcher (R-ID-01) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in the case of Moyle v. United States of America and Idaho v. United States of America. The brief supports the State of Idaho in defending its pro-life law, the Defense of Life Act, against the Biden administration’s efforts to trump it with its wrongful reinterpretation of federal law.

“EMTALA has nothing to do with abortion. This law was passed under the Clinton administration—a pro-choice administration—and never mentioned abortion,” said Dr. Cassidy. “For the Biden administration to require hospitals to perform an activity against state law tells you more about the Biden administration than about their interpretation of the law.”

“Idahoans have passed a strong law to protect the lives of mothers and the unborn, yet the Biden administration is seeking every opportunity to expand abortion. This administration cherrypicked pieces of existing statute and wrongfully reinterpreted it to fit their agenda,” said Senator Risch. “Their manipulation of federal law cannot usurp state law, and there is no federal right to an abortion. This amicus brief demonstrates how the administration’s substantial federal overreach is aimed at undermining pro-life protections not only in Idaho but around the nation.”

“The case of Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States involves an elective, induced abortion which is against Idaho law,” said Representative Fulcher. “The Biden administration has no authority to use EMTALA to avoid holding these individuals accountable for breaking the law, and this sets a precedence that is harmful to women and children around the country.”

The amicus brief outlines several issues with the Biden administration’s case against Idaho’s bill. The brief clarifies:

  • The administration is wrongfully misinterpreting the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) into federal agency guidance and claiming it provides a national abortion mandate for “stabilizing” abortions;
  • EMTALA does not mention abortion in any capacity, and the statute’s purpose is to ensure any person seeking help in an emergency room receives help regardless of his or her ability to pay;
  • EMTALA protects women in active labor and their unborn child(ren);
  • There is no federal right to an abortion; and
  • SCOTUS ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health there is no constitutional right to an abortion, and it returned these decisions to the states.

Other senators signed on to the brief include U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Lee (R-UT), James Lankford (R-OK), Ted Budd (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Todd Young (R-IN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), and John Cornyn (R-TX) joined the brief. Ninety-four members of the House of Representatives also joined the brief.

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