The Supreme Court is divided over whether Idaho’s near-total abortion ban overrides a federal law protecting patients who need emergency care. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett is skeptical that Idaho’s law supersedes the federal law. The case also raises the question of whether some conservative justices may support the notion of fetal personhood. The clash between the Idaho and federal laws may affect access to abortions in emergency rooms. The dispute is the second abortion case to reach the Supreme Court recently, highlighting the ongoing debate over the issue. Idaho doctors are leaving due to restrictive abortion laws, creating maternity care deserts and straining the remaining physicians. The Biden administration argues that the federal law should override Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. The federal law mandates that hospitals receiving federal funds must provide stabilizing care to patients. Idaho’s law makes performing abortions except in limited cases a crime. The case before the Supreme Court centers around the interpretation of the federal law and its relation to state-level abortion bans. President Biden has used the federal law as a means to safeguard abortion rights. Texas sued the federal government over a memo issued by the Biden administration regarding EMTALA and abortion care.
