The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on April 24th for Idaho v. United States, a legal case that could restrict abortions and other types of care in emergency medical situations.
A law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act is at the heart of the Supreme Court case. Under this law all patients who go to the emergency room in crisis must be offered stabilizing care to prevent death or long-lasting injury to health.
If the court rules in Idaho's favor, states effectively would be able to override the law’s protections for disfavored populations, conditions and treatments, Including abortions that must be done to save a woman’s life or prevent serious health consequences.
The George Washington University has experts available to talk about this law and the court case coming up. To schedule an interview with an expert please contact Kathy Fackelmann, [email protected] or GW Media at [email protected].
Lynn R. Goldman, Dean of the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, is a pediatrician, epidemiologist and national public health expert. She is one of many deans and scholars nationwide that together filed a public health friend-of-the court brief on Idaho the United States. The brief argues that if Idaho is allowed to proceed states could bar hospitals from intervening In many types of emergency situations.
“The High Court’s decision could leave pregnant women who experience a health crisis without basic care to stabilize their emergency,” said Goldman. “Many serious problems can occur in a pregnancy that require immediate treatment. Without emergency medical care, including an abortion if needed, women are at risk for serious, lifelong health consequences.”
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. Watch Rosenbaum discuss the case In this video.
Sonia Suter, The Henry St. George Tucker III Dean’s Research Professor of Law; The Kahan Family Research Professor of Law; Founding Director, Health Law Initiative at the George Washington University Law School. Professor Suter is an expert in the intersection of law, medicine and bioethics with a particular focus on reproductive rights, emerging reproductive technologies, and ethical and legal issues in genetics.
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