Dear Friends,
I want to share some great news.
Last Friday, I was informed the Supreme Court accepted our emergency application and stayed the erroneous ruling from the Ninth Circuit on Idaho’s criminal abortion law in Idaho v. United States of America. In addition, SCOTUS is also granting an uncommon writ of certiorari, taking the case completely out of the hands of the lower court. The stay itself is also significant because generally it is only issued if a majority of judges believes that the defendant (Idaho) is likely to prevail on the merits of the case.
This case was the Biden Administration’s attempt to meddle in Idaho’s statutes that protect the lives of both the unborn and pregnant women. The Administration used a federal law – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA – governing care for indigent patients as an excuse that abortions should be provided regardless of state laws prohibiting them. The federal government has been wrong from day one. Federal law does not preempt Idaho’s Defense of Life Act. In fact, EMTALA and Idaho’s law share the same goal: to save the lives of all women and their unborn children.
My Office of Solicitor General—together with the experienced and highly-respected supreme court advocacy firms I’ve selected to assist us—looks forward to representing the people of Idaho before the Supreme Court. The Administration’s desperate attempt to override Idaho’s statutes must be stopped as we work to preserve the lives of all our citizens.
The Supreme Court will hear Idaho v. The United States of America in April 2024. It will be the nation’s first abortion ruling at that level since Roe v. Wade was repealed in 2022, which remanded abortion decisions back to the states where they belong.
The fight for Life in Idaho will never end. There is no legislation – state or federal – that can ever heal the hearts of individuals and help them understand the precious gift of life should be protected, not discarded as an inconvenience or burden. But we can offer every protection possible to the unborn. I’m very proud to carry this fight to the highest level in our legal system.
