{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://goldman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-dan-goldman-calls-ninth-circuit-reject-idahos-draconian-abortion", "Congressman Dan Goldman Calls on Ninth Circuit to Reject Idaho\u2019s Draconian Abortion Ban, Protect Emergency Medical Care", "2024-10-29", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Daniel S. Goldman", "G000599", "goldman.house.gov", "goldman", "https://goldman.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Idaho Abortion Ban Would Criminalize Doctors Providing Federally Mandated Emergency Medical Care, Putting Lives of Women at Risk\n\nGoldman Signs Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit to Protect Abortion Care Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)\n\nRead the Amicus Brief Here\n\nWashington, DC \u2013 Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), and 254 Democratic members of Congress in submitting an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit Court in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, two consolidated cases concerning the \u2018Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).\u2019 EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funding to provide necessary \u201cstabilizing treatment\u201d to patients experiencing medical emergencies, which can include abortion care.\n\nAfter the Dobbs decision in 2022, a draconian anti-abortion law in Idaho went into effect that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a patient\u2019s pregnancy unless it is \u201cnecessary\u201d to prevent the patient\u2019s death. The United States sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the state\u2019s law is preempted by EMTALA in those circumstances in which abortion may not be necessary to prevent imminent death, but still constitutes the necessary stabilizing treatment fora patient\u2019s emergency medical condition. The district court agreed and the decision was challenged up to the Supreme Court level.\n\n\u201cIn this case, respecting the supremacy of federal law is about more than just protecting our system of government; it is about protecting people\u2019s lives,\u201d the Members wrote. \u201cIf this Court allows Idaho\u2019s near-total abortion ban to supersede federal law, pregnant patients in Idaho will continue to be denied appropriate medical treatment, placing them at heightened risk for medical complications and severe adverse health outcomes.\u201d\n\nThis amicus brief follows an April 2024 amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to reject Idaho\u2019s draconian ban. The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the case, sending it back down to the Ninth Circuit.\n\nIn their brief in support of the Biden Administration, the lawmakers ask the Ninth Circuit to uphold the district court\u2019s ruling. They argue the congressional intent, text, and history of EMTALA make clear that covered hospitals must provide abortion care when it is the necessary stabilizing treatment for a patient\u2019s emergency medical condition, and that EMTALA preempts Idaho\u2019s abortion ban in emergency situations that present a serious threat to a patient\u2019s health.\n\nThere have already been numerous reports of OB/GYNs leaving Idaho since the state\u2019s abortion ban went into effect\u2014Idaho has since lost fifty-five percent of its maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and three rural hospitals have shut down maternity services altogether.\n\n\u201cThese are not hypothetical scenarios. Because Idaho\u2019s abortion ban contains no clear exceptions for the \u201cemergency medical conditions\u201d covered by EMTALA, it forces physicians to wait until their patients are on the verge of death before providing abortion care,\u201d the Members continued. \u201cThe result in other states with similar laws has been significant maternal morbidity.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers conclude by asking the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court\u2019s decision that EMTALA requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion care when it is necessary as emergency medical treatment.\n\nCongressman Dan Goldman is committed to protecting abortion access across the country.\n\nIn April 2024, Congressman Goldman introduced the 'Abortion Care Awareness Act,' which would increase access to medically accurate information about abortion, specifically medication abortion. This legislation would ensure people have access to accurate information about where and how to obtain abortion services across the country, how to avoid anti-abortion centers intended to deceive patients, and how to identify misinformation about abortion care.\n\nAdditionally, Congressman Goldman hosted a virtual roundtable with representatives from New York State, New York City, and leading reproductive freedom organizations to discuss options for women seeking reproductive health care, New York\u2019s status as a safe haven for abortion care and services, and how New York can continue to lead nationally in protecting reproductive freedoms.\n\nIn March of 2023, the Congressman cosponsored the \u2018Women\u2019s Health Protection Act,\u2019 which establishes a federal right for healthcare professionals to provide abortion care and the right for their patients to receive care, free from bans and medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care. The \u2018Women\u2019s Health Protection Act\u2019 codifies and expands upon the rights established in Roe v. Wade.\n\nCongressman Goldman is a member of the Pro-Choice Caucus.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://goldman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-dan-goldman-calls-ninth-circuit-reject-idahos-draconian-abortion"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.558403018862009, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}