State of Idaho v. United States of America
Description: The Biden administration is attempting to use federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions that are illegal under Idaho law.
Idaho defends pro-life law at US Supreme Court
WHO: Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador
WHAT: Press conference following oral arguments in State of Idaho v. United States of America
WHEN: Immediately following oral arguments, which begin at 10 a.m. EDT, Wed., April 24
WHERE: Outside U.S. Supreme Court, 1 First St. NE, Washington. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Deputy Director of Media Relations AnnMarie Pariseau at (480) 417-3975.
WASHINGTON – Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador will speak at a press conference outside the U.S. Supreme Court immediately following oral arguments Wednesday in State of Idaho v. United States of America.
The Office of the Idaho Attorney General, with the assistance of experienced Supreme Court litigators from Alliance Defending Freedom and Cooper & Kirk PLLC, is asking the nation’s high court to prevent the Biden administration from manipulating federal law to override Idaho’s Defense of Life Act. Idaho’s law protects the lives of women and their unborn children, preventing doctors from performing abortions unless necessary to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. Contrary to what the administration argues, Idaho’s law is fully consistent with federal law.
“The administration’s radical interpretation of federal law is nothing more than a lawless disregard for Idaho’s right to protect life,” Labrador said. “Idaho’s Defense of Life Act is perfectly consistent with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which provides explicit protections for ‘unborn children’ in four separate places. But the Biden administration is trying to use one life-affirming law to invalidate another. We are asking the Supreme Court to end the administration’s unlawful overreach and to respect the decision of the people of Idaho to safeguard the lives of women and their unborn children.”
“The Biden administration lacks the authority to override Idaho’s law and force emergency room doctors to perform abortions,” ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner said. “There is no conflict between Idaho’s Defense of Life Act and EMTALA. Both Idaho’s law and EMTALA seek to protect the lives of women and their unborn children. The Supreme Court should end the Biden administration’s lawlessness and uphold Idaho’s rightful authority to protect life.”
In August 2022, the Biden administration sued Idaho, claiming that EMTALA preempts Idaho’s protections for life and requires emergency room doctors to perform abortions that are unlawful in Idaho. But no conflict exists between EMTALA and Idaho’s law, as both seek to save lives, and neither forces doctors to perform abortions in emergency rooms. After a lower court upheld the administration’s attempt to rewrite EMTALA and prevented Idaho from enforcing its law, the Supreme Court agreed to review the case and fully restored Idaho’s law while the case continues.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as nearly 5,000 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal counsel to over 3,500 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued three of those cases: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Uzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. She is a Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ attorney in Martindale-Hubbell, who clerked for Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court after law school and served in private practice in Seattle for nearly 20 years.
ABOUT John Bursch
John Bursch is senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom. Bursch has argued 12 U.S. Supreme Court cases and more than 30 state supreme court cases since 2011, and a recent study concluded that among all frequent Supreme Court advocates who did not work for the federal government, he had the 3rd highest success rate for persuading justices to adopt his legal position. Bursch served as solicitor general for the state of Michigan from 2011-2013. He has argued multiple Michigan Supreme Court cases in eight of the last ten terms and has successfully litigated hundreds of matters nationwide, including six with at least $1 billion at stake. As part of his private firm, Bursch Law PLLC, he has represented Fortune 500 companies, foreign and domestic governments, top public officials, and industry associations in high-profile cases, primarily on appeal. He received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1997 from the University of Minnesota Law School and is admitted to practice in numerous federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.