Biden Administration Attacks Idaho’s Pro-Life Law With Lies

The Biden-Harris administration isn’t easing up on their abortion agenda. In their last 30 days, the federal government is continuing its quest to dismantle Idaho’s pro-life law by twisting the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).  

Democrats went all in on the issue of abortion this election. According to AdImpact, Democrats spent $570 million on abortion-focused TV ads for federal races during the general election. And even though failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris struggled to form coherent sentences on most topics, she was animated on abortion.

She and her party repeated one central lie to the American people: pro-life laws kill women. In a September statement, Harris summed up this point, saying, “In more than 20 states, Trump abortion bans are preventing doctors from providing basic medical care. Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again.” 

They knew this was a blatant lie because every single state with a pro-life law has a life of the mother exception that allows pregnant women to receive care for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and other medical emergencies. Under every such law, doctors can continue to rely on their reasonable medical judgment to treat pregnant women. Despite what the actual laws say, Democrats did not care. They continued to push misinformation — rhetoric that endangers pregnant women and their children. 

Thankfully, Americans saw through their lies and Harris lost. You’d think that would teach Democrats to stop pushing abortion misinformation, but unfortunately it hasn’t. The Biden administration is using taxpayer dollars to push this lie with a legal attack on Idaho’s pro-life law under the administration’s interpretation of the EMTALA.

Twisting EMTALA

EMTALA was created back in the 1980s in response to disturbing reports of patients who were refused treatment in hospital emergency rooms due to their inability to pay. Some of these patients were pregnant women who were refused care even as they were in labor. The law was put in place to protect quality care for mothers and their children — it never mentioned nor required abortion. But in a kneejerk reaction to the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Dobbs decision, the Biden administration decided to force abortion into the federal EMTALA law. They issued baseless guidance requiring emergency room medical personnel to perform “stabilizing” abortions in certain circumstances, ignoring that the EMTALA law’s text covers pregnant women and their unborn children.

Under their distorted interpretation of the law, the Biden administration sued Idaho over its state protections for babies in the womb. In June of this year, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court and left Idaho’s pro-life law in place. The Democrats’ fight hit a flashpoint last week, when their case against the Idaho law resumed as the 9^th Circuit heard this case.

Two Problems with Biden Administration’s Case

There are two big problems with the federal government’s case. First, Idaho’s law not only protects unborn children but also their mothers. The state’s life of the mother exception safeguards women who experience a medical emergency during pregnancy. During oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice failed to raise a single diagnosis that would not already be covered under the life of the mother provision.

The second major problem is that there is no mention of abortion in the EMTALA law and the unborn child is explicitly mentioned and included in EMTALA’s text. In fact, it is one of the key federal laws that acknowledges the humanity of the child in the womb. The requirement to provide life-sustaining treatment for the unborn child is referenced four times. 

Americans Reject the Lie

The reality is this court case is not about the facts. This is another attempt by the Biden-Harris regime and Democrats to further push their failed strategy of abortion on everyone and scare Americans about women’s ability to receive care. Democrats and the abortion lobby desperately need this lie to continue because their agenda for all-trimester abortion is wildly unpopular. Moral extortion is the only way for them to continue along this political path.

Thankfully, voters saw through their lies in November. And despite the nearly half a billion dollars the Democrats invested in abortion TV ads, the pro-life party won the White House, the House, and the Senate in the first presidential election since Roe fell. Voters rejected this lie on Election Day and the 9^th Circuit judges should reject it now. Americans should stand with Attorney General Raul Labrador as he defends Idaho’s right to protect unborn children and their mothers.

Kelsey Pritchard is the state public affairs director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.