CV NEWS FEED // Idaho Republican Senator Jim Risch and Rep. Russ Fulcher this week filed a bicameral amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in support of their state’s pro-life law, defending it in a case against the Biden administration.
“Idahoans have passed a strong law to protect the lives of mothers and the unborn, yet the Biden administration is seeking every opportunity to expand abortion,” stated Risch in a February 27 press release:
This administration cherry picked pieces of existing statute and wrongfully reinterpreted it to fit their agenda. Their manipulation of federal law cannot usurp state law, and there is no federal right to an abortion.
The case set for the Supreme Court is Moyle v. United States American and Idaho v. United States of America.
The Biden administration is attempting to use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) to force hospital emergency rooms “to perform abortions in certain situations, even if it conflicts with the religious beliefs of a doctor or hospital, and even if abortion is banned by state law,” according to Becket, a pro-religious freedom organization.
“The federal government then sued Idaho, claiming its Defense of Life Act, which bans most abortions in the state, violated federal law. Idaho is asking the Supreme Court to reject the government’s attempt to override state law,” Becket noted. Becket also filed a friend-of-the-court brief at the Supreme Court in support of Idaho on February 27.
The Court is set to hear oral arguments on April 24.
“This amicus brief demonstrates how the administration’s substantial federal overreach is aimed at undermining pro-life protections not only in Idaho but around the nation,” Risch stated in his press release.
Fulcher reiterated Risch’s statement, saying that the SCOTUS case “involves an elective, induced abortion which is against Idaho law.”
“The Biden administration has no authority to use EMTALA to avoid holding these individuals accountable for breaking the law, and this sets a precedence that is harmful to women and children around the country,” Fulcher continued.
The brief emphasizes that the administration is “wrongfully interpreting” EMTALA, and that there is no constitutional or federal right to an abortion.
Twenty-four U.S. Senators, 93 congressmen, and the whole Idaho delegation support the brief, which can be read in full here.