Newswise — The Supreme Court has ruled to allow emergency abortions in Idaho at least for now.
This decision comes after a viewed copy of the Court opinion was briefly posted on the court website Wednesday.
This decision means hospitals can provide emergency abortions to stabilize patients without the threat of prosecution under Idaho's abortion ban.
The Court's ruling puts back in place a lower court decision that allowed emergency abortion care while litigation on the issue continues
The case focuses on a law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which was enacted by Congress in 1986 to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of the ability to pay. The decision upholds this law’s protection but leaves open the option of coming back later and ruling in Idaho's favor.
The George Washington University has experts available to comment on all aspects of this issue. To schedule an interview with an expert please contact GW media relations at [email protected]
Sara Rosenbaum, professor emerita of health law and policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, is a nationally known health law expert who has written about the Supreme Court case and possible public health consequences In Health Affairs. Professor Rosenbaum also worked along with many other scholars on a public health amicus brief for the case.
Watch Professor Rosenbaum discuss the case In this video.
Julia Strasser, is the executive director of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health and an assistant research professor of health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is an expert on reproductive health care and access to essential care including abortions.
Sonia Suter is a professor of law at the GW Law School and founding director of the Health Law Initiative. She is an expert on issues at the intersection of law, medicine, and bioethics, with a particular focus on reproductive rights.
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