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For Immediate Release: March 5, 2024
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Politically Motivated Misinformation Harms Women and Their Babies

Washington, D.C. – The Trump Justice Department is set to drop the Biden administration’s years-long lawsuit against Idaho’s Defense of Life Act, as early as today, according to court filings. Late on Tuesday, Clinton-appointed U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill sided with the abortion lobby and issued a temporary order blocking the state attorney general’s office from enforcing the law, pending a hearing.

Director of Legal Affairs & Policy Counsel Katie Daniel commended the Trump-Vance administration and slammed the restraining order:

“Democrats’ abortion extremism cost them the election. With President Trump and a new administration in charge, Biden’s weaponization of the federal government is over – no more lawfare. The will of the people is clear and activist judges must not interfere.

“Idaho’s Defense of Life Act protecting babies and their mothers throughout pregnancy was upheld by the state Supreme Court in 2023. There is no conflict between Idaho’s law and federal law, which never mentions abortion but specifically mentions several times that the ‘unborn child’ is also a patient any time a pregnant woman comes to the emergency room. Idaho’s law protects more than 1,500 babies a year, and like every pro-life law in the country, nothing in it stops pregnant women from receiving emergency medical care. This care is absolutely legal.

“We thank President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and our allies in Idaho, particularly state Attorney General Raul Labrador. We continue encouraging every pro-life state to adopt ‘Med Ed’ policies to make it crystal clear how doctors can use their medical judgment and comply with the law. Politically motivated lies and excuses are harming women and their babies and they need to stop.”

Ingrid Skop, M.D., FACOG, vice president and director of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute and a practicing ob-gyn in Texas, added:

“As a board-certified ob-gyn for over 30 years, the administration’s change in stance is welcome news for both of my patients—a pregnant woman and her unborn child—whose lives are both prioritized by EMTALA. This coercive effort by the prior administration to subvert existing laws to promote abortion was never necessary, as EMTALA has never been confusing for me or my obstetric peers. Every state pro-life law already permitted physicians to intervene immediately in a pregnancy emergency to protect a woman’s life. Although I do not perform elective abortions, I have always been able to provide quality care in obstetric emergencies, seeking to preserve the lives of both mother and child.”

Previously in court documents, plaintiff St. Luke’s Health System failed to provide proof for the claim that women had to be airlifted out of state to receive emergency abortions. Further resources:

• Justice delayed: 5 takeaways from the Biden-Harris admin’s ongoing battle against pro-life states
• Emergency care for pregnant women: Biden’s abortion distortion
• Pro-Life Laws Protect Mom and Baby: Pregnant Women’s Lives are Protected in All States

The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) never mentions abortion, but the requirement to provide care for both a pregnant woman and her “unborn child” is specifically mentioned more than once. After Biden’s DOJ conceded abortion would never be indicated to treat mental health, there is no diagnosis that the federal government identified as treatable under EMTALA that is not also treatable under the Idaho law’s life of the mother provision.

In a U.S. Supreme Court brief last year, the State of Idaho wrote, “A medical provider complies with EMTALA when it offers stabilizing treatment in accord with state law and the hospital’s capabilities. That is exactly what the Fifth Circuit held in Texas, and that is why there is also no conflict between Idaho’s Defense of Life Act and EMTALA.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.

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