WASHINGTON D.C. — The latest Supreme Court decision once again calls abortion into question. This time, Moyle v. United States asks if Idaho hospitals can legally provide emergency care to patients who need it — including abortions if that is the appropriate medical treatment. Specifically, whether Idaho’s near-total ban on abortions prevents doctors from providing medically necessary abortions.
For the second time in two years, a major Supreme Court abortion decision leaked before the justices officially released it. This time, however, it may have only been because of a clerical error by someone who manages the Court’s website.
Two years ago, an early draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case overruling Roe v. Wade, leaked to the press. The identity of the leaker remains unknown, as does the leaker’s motive. About two months after the leak, the Supreme Court released its final opinion in Dobbs, which was similar to the leaked draft.
The official opinion on Moyle v. United States was released on June 27.
The court initially agreed to expedite the appeal and temporarily allowed Idaho to enforce its abortion ban. After hearing the case, the court dismissed it as improvidently granted and restored a lower court order allowing emergency abortions under EMTALA. This returned the case to the lower courts without a ruling on the merits.
In the end, the Court decided that the case was improvidently granted, meaning that they believe they shouldn’t have even taken the case on in the first place. They restored a lower court order allowing emergency abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. This returned the case to the lower courts without a ruling on the merits.
President Joe Biden provided an official statement on the issue after the ruling was announced.
“Today’s Supreme Court order ensures that women in Idaho can access the emergency medical care they need while this case returns to the lower courts,” he stated. “No woman should be denied care, made to wait until she’s near death, or forced to flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs. This should never happen in America. Yet, this is exactly what is happening in states across the country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. …”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also released a statement about the matter.
"Today's Supreme Court decision preserves, for now, the ability of emergency room doctors in Idaho to provide abortions when a patient’s life or health is at risk,” she said. “Pregnant patients deserve access to all lifesaving medical interventions, no matter where they live. By not ruling on the substance of this critical issue, the court is perpetuating fear and uncertainty about what care is legal and leaves the door open for continued attacks on reproductive health by political extremists.”
