DOJ drops case to protect emergency abortion care

The Department of Justice revealed it will reverse course and move to dismiss a case brought by the Biden Administration challenging Idaho’s abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the nation. The case sought to ensure hospitals are still providing emergency abortion care to patients as required by the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), a longstanding federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment to all patients with emergency medical conditions. This action represents a dramatic change in government policy: the Trump administration is making clear that its Justice Department no longer plans to defend pregnant people in medical emergencies. Litigation over Idaho’s abortion ban will continue as St. Luke’s, Idaho’s largest hospital system, sued the state Attorney General in January to protect access to emergency abortion care in anticipation of the incoming Trump administration. Read our full statement here.