Idaho Democratic leader: Stomach 'queasy' after Supreme Court abortion case
Idaho's state Senate minority leader said the Supreme Court's coming decision on her state's abortion ban makes her "queasy," as conservative justices heard arguments Wednesday in the latest abortion battle before the high court.
The Court heard oral arguments on the Biden administration's mandate that hospitals that receive Medicare funding provide an abortion if its necessary to stabilize the health of an emergency room patient.
Sen. Melissa Wintrow, the Democratic leader in Idaho's state Senate, said she had little faith the Supreme Court would ultimately defend the Department of Justice's (DOJ) mandate.
"The Supreme Court has let me down before," Wintrow told The Hill outside the Supreme Court. "My stomach is queasy about what's going to happen."
The emergency care case is the latest example of abortion returning to the Supreme Court after the issue was ostensibly returned to the states in the landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Last month, justices heard arguments in a case that could see sweeping changes to medication abortion access. But while a majority of justices seemed to side with the Department of Justice in that case, the conservative majority appeared more sympathetic to Idaho on Wednesday.
Idaho's Defense of Life Act is one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, providing exception only to save the life of a patient.
The federal law EMTALA, or the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, requires federally funded hospitals to provide stabilizing care to emergency room patients, even if they can't pay.
The Biden administration argues EMTALA requires hospitals to administer an abortion if it is necessary not only to save a life, but to prevent seriously negative health outcomes, regardless of state law.
Wintrow said her state's resistance to the mandate hurts a small, vulnerable group of people.
"We're talking about the smallest number of emergencies," Wintrow said. "The state of Idaho is using tax dollars to fight against a federal law that protects you in a crisis."
Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D), who joined Wintrow on the court steps, said her GOP colleagues should have taken the DOJ's intervention as "a gift," an opportunity to back away from the state's "incredibly extreme" law passed years before Roe v. Wade was overturned.
"[Idaho Republicans] should have just said 'thank you, you're Honor, you're right. We didn't really mean to kill women who were in medical emergencies,'" Rubel said.
The Idaho Democratic leaders said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, whose office is defending the state law, is "beyond the pale," and that the ban is scaring away high-stakes paternal care workers in the state.
"We've lost 55 percent of our high-risk maternity specialists [in Idaho]. There are now parts of the state where you have to travel 170 miles just to get to an OB-GYN," Rubel said.
Labrador, who greeted supporters at the steps after oral arguments, called the Democratic leaders' statements "an exaggeration."
"The Supreme Court was really clear that [the threshold for legal abortion] didn't need to be imminent death, that it's a subjective standard," Labrador said.
"I think what's shameful is that some in the medical community and some lawyers are trying to confuse the public, and they're scaring pregnant women and scaring doctors."
Labrador also said Idaho's loss of high-risk maternal care workers is not specific to the state, and that neighboring states like Oregon, a blue state, are experiencing the same problems.
Labrador would not comment on how the justices received Idaho's arguments, saying that he couldn't "read the tea leaves."
However, he did indicate that he believed the conservative court would side with his state.
"It's important for the Court to protect the sovereignty of the state of Idaho, and after Dobbs, they clearly indicated it's up to the states to determine the extent of abortion coverage in most states," he told The Hill.
Date: | |
Tag: | Abortion |
Filter
-
Civil rights leaders blast Supreme Court at their doorstep
Civil rights leaders from around the nation gathered in Washington, D.C., Friday to protest book bans and rising attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), saying limitations on education were hurting teachers, students and democracy as a ...The Hill - Politics -
Democrats alarmed over conservative judges in Trump court cases
Democratic lawmakers are sounding the alarm over what they see as conservative justices and judges tipping the scales in favor of former President Trump in two federal cases. The two cases accuse the former president of attempting to subvert the ...The Hill - Politics - Donald Trump -
Cambodia's Supreme Court upholds the 2-year prison sentence of a casino strike leader
Cambodia’s Supreme Court has upheld the two-year prison sentence of a labor union leader who led a long-running strike against the country’s biggest casinoABC News - World -
Former Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer: ‘Are you kidding? You’ll get more cases than ever!’
The American lawyer on the problem of overturning of Roe vs Wade, the ‘psychological difficulty’ of retirement — and what ‘Macbeth’ tells us about WashingtonFinancial Times - Business -
Ted Cruz Now Courts Democrats to Win Re-Election
The Texas senator faces a competitive contest against a Democratic challenger, Rep. Colin Allred, this fall.The Wall Street Journal - World -
Alabama Supreme Court declines to revisit controversial frozen embryo ruling
The decision prompted a wave of public backlash as women saw fertility treatments canceled or put in jeopardy after the ruling.CBS News - Politics -
Alabama supreme court declines to revisit frozen embryos ruling
Justices say they will not reconsider contentious February ruling that said frozen embryos are considered children under state law. The Alabama supreme court on Friday declined to reconsider a controversial ruling that said frozen embryos are ...The Guardian - World
More from The Hill
-
Trump posts campaign ad praising UNC students holding up US flag during campus protest
Former President Trump posted a campaign ad on his Truth Social site praising various counter protestors on college campuses, including students who held up the U.S. flag. “While campuses struggle to get control of their students, at UNC Chapel ...The Hill - Politics - Donald Trump -
Campus chaos vindicates the American system and the First Amendment
Americans are rightly comparing this to the suppression of speech by authoritarian regimes. But when you look more closely, it also highlights the superiority of the American system over authoritarian systems abroad.The Hill - Politics -
Kellyanne Conway on early voting: ‘You adapt or you die politically’
Kellyanne Conway, ex-senior adviser to former President Trump and Fox News contributor, said although she doesn’t like early voting, if it’s the new normal, Republicans must adapt or they will “die politically.” Conway joined talk show “Real Time ...The Hill - Politics -
The Quantum revolution may be just around the corner — Congress should act
The promise of quantum computing is massive, but it needs serious support.The Hill - Politics -
Tim Scott: ‘The View’ hosts ‘attacking me again’ for being only Black GOP senator
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) criticized the hosts of “The View” for “attacking” him for being the only Black Republican senator but said the Black GOP has momentum. “I’m never surprised when the ladies at ‘The View’ go at it again,” he said in a video ...The Hill - Politics