MEMO: Potential Impacts of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Supreme Court Case on Granite State Patients

On April 24, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Moyle v. United States, a case which could have significant implications on reproductive health care and patient rights in New Hampshire and across the country. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which mandates hospitals offer emergency care regardless of state restrictions and has been in place for nearly 40 years, preempts Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. 

In short, the Supreme Court will decide whether hospitals can deny patients abortion care even when an abortion is what is required to save the patient’s health or life. The consequences of this Supreme Court decision could extend to every state, including New Hampshire, and could be fatal. 

Everyone must be able to get the emergency care they need – including pregnant people who need an abortion. Anti-abortion lawmakers and their allies are willing to endanger pregnant people even when they are experiencing medical emergencies.

How We Got Here 

Moyle v. United States arose following the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade and erased the federal constitutional right to abortion. This case highlights the clash between states’ extreme abortion bans and federal obligations like those under EMTALA, and shows how states can, post-Dobbs, jeopardize access to critical medical care for patients across the country, including here in New Hampshire where abortion is legal, but not protected. 

With its decision to overturn Roe nearly two years ago, the Supreme Court unleashed a national reproductive health crisis. This was never about sending the issue of abortion back to the states. It is about controlling people’s lives, bodies, and futures and making abortion inaccessible at every turn. 

What's at Stake for New Hampshire Patients 

The Supreme Court’s Decision Could Restrict Access to Life-Saving Emergency Care in New Hampshire 

EMTALA requires hospitals taking Medicare and offering emergency services to check whether a patient is experiencing a medical emergency and either make the patient stable or make an appropriate transfer to another facility. Currently in New Hampshire, if a patient needs an abortion to make them stable, the doctor – with the patient’s permission – must provide it under EMTALA. 

If the Supreme Court rules that EMTALA does not include emergency abortion care, New Hampshire emergency rooms will be able to deny abortion care to Granite Staters even when that procedure is necessary to save the patient’s life or health. Without the protection of this federal law, New Hampshire hospitals could refuse to treat a pregnant person experiencing a medical emergency, like their water breaking dangerously early, uncontrollable hemorrhage which can cause kidney failure, sepsis, and pre-eclampsia which could cause seizures or brain injury. 

The Supreme Court’s Decision Could Undermine Physicians’ Ability to Provide the Best Treatment and Could Put Health Care Providers in Legal Jeopardy for Saving Patients’ Lives 

The decision in Moyle v. United States could force physicians to choose between complying with EMTALA mandates, state abortion restrictions, and their hospital’s policy, risking legal repercussions and professional sanctions. This dilemma could deter health care professionals from providing life-saving care to patients during medical emergencies. 

This Supreme Court decision could have far-reaching impacts on patient rights and health care delivery and could have fatal consequences in New Hampshire and across the country. The consequences will be catastrophic if the Supreme Court allows states to ignore federal law protecting people’s access to the care they need in emergency situations — including abortion — after nearly 40 years. Unless the Supreme Court is willing to let pregnant people die or suffer serious complications, it must ensure EMTALA continues to protect emergency abortion care. Any erosion of EMTALA protections threatens the well-being of Granite State patients.