Hello Fellow Netizens!
First, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday! For those of us in the United States, the Fourth marks our annual celebration of the day the Declaration of Independence was ratified which officially formed the United States of America. This moment in history signaled our nation’s victory against Britain and proclaimed our commitment to embracing the ideals of freedom, liberty and justice. However, these were privileges were only for those in power at the time; not all were lucky to benefit from independence and had to fight over the centuries to earn their rights.
For this article, I want to focus on Freedom of choice and how women across the United States are faring today in honor of the Fourth. Let us begin, shall we?
Current State of Reproductive Rights
There have been several movements in the issue of reproductive rights since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022. Here are the major decisions that were recently handed out by the Supreme Court this year:
Mifepristone: Where It Stands
I wrote on the issue of mifepristone in a previous article, specifically that a group called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine brought a case against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its approval of the drug over concerns of safety and ethical use. On June 13th, 2024, the Supreme Court handed its decision and unanimously dismissed the suit under the reason that the doctors representing the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine lacked legal standing. “Legal standing” is a requirement of any party who seeks to bring a case forward that they prove they have connection to and were harmed (“injured”) from a law or action. In this case, the doctors were not able to sufficiently prove that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone has caused them personal harm or damage.
This means that, for now, the use of mifepristone is protected. However, until reproductive rights are codified into law there may be more challenges in the horizon for this drug and others like it that are used as abortificients. Guidance outlined by the FDA highlights the safety and efficacy of mifepristone; in fact, it has less deaths associated with it compared to other drugs like penicillin and sildenafil (Viagra)!
EMTALA: Emergency Abortion Services
The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (known as EMTALA) was passed in 1986 to address the issue of “patient dumping”, which was prevalent around this time. “Patient dumping” is the practice of transferring patients from one hospital (usually private) to another (usually state/county) due to their inability to pay. As you can all imagine, this is a serious issue for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients who could face negative consequences from transfers compared to if they were simply seen at their initial hospital.
EMTALA has 3 requirements for all emergency departments in the country to follow:
- Screen: Hospitals are required to screen any patient that comes into their emergency departments to see whether they require emergency medical treatment; no patient should be turned away for any reason
- Stabilize: Patients coming into the hospital with serious conditions are required to be stabilized regardless of their capacity to pay
- Transfer: If appropriate and called for, a patient can be transferred to another hospital for treatment if the current facility is not able to
These 3 tenants of EMTALA cover a range of medical emergencies, including abortions in circumstances where the mother’s health is at risk. This issue was most recently decided on by the Supreme Court in Moyle v. United States, where the state of Idaho brought a case against the federal government over whether EMTALA overruled state abortion laws. In a 6-3 decision, the majority wrote that emergency abortions should be allowed in Idaho (for now) and dismissed the case as “improvidently granted“. For a case to be dismissed as improvidently granted means that the Supreme Court believed that they should not have taken the case in the first place, although the judges are not required to explain this decision. Consequently, the matter was returned to the lower courts for further litigation. How this issue finally gets resolved remains to be seen.
The Fight Continues
The fight concerning reproductive health continues with fresh cases coming in the horizon. Potential cases include:
- Traveling across state lines to receive abortion services: This issue has been raised by multiple states, most notably Idaho in 2023 with its “abortion trafficking” bill that would criminalize anyone transporting a minor across state lines to receive abortion services without parental consent. This summer, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a heated hearing on this exact topic which only heightens the probability that a future case for the Supreme Court is not out of the question.
- Federal actions on abortion after the elimination of the “Chevron deference” doctrine: The doctrine was based on Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., a 1984 case that focused on the issue of judicial deference for administrative actions. In Chevron, the Supreme Court decided that such judicial deference is appropriate where the agency’s actions were not unreasonable and so long as Congress had not addressed these issues directly. The Supreme Court recently overturned the Chevron deference doctrine, which adds more judicial barriers for any agency that proposes new policies related to abortions.
Where We Go From Here
I think this quote from a Politico article perfectly summarizes the state of play between the Supreme Court and reproductive rights:
“It was ridiculous when the court said two years ago that overruling Roe was going to get the court out of the business of abortion,” said Leah Litman, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Law. “There’s an entire new frontier of abortion litigation that’s going to make its way to the court no matter what happens in the [2024 Presidential] election. This just isn’t going anywhere.”
‘A battle to the death’: The next abortion cases en route to the Supreme Court. Written by Alice Miranda Ollstein for Politico.
The record shows that every issue so far has been handled to some degree by the Supreme Court. Until Congress has the political will to act on abortion (and let’s be honest, it may not happen for some time), conservative states will continue to test how far they are able to criminalize it through the judicial process. The best actions we as citizens (and Netizens) can do are to hold our leaders accountable and to keep ourselves educated on the latest developments on the issues. With trust of the Supreme Court at an all time low and members having questionable ethical behaviors, their decisions need to be scrutinized more closely in the coming years ahead.
Until next time, fellow Netizens!
Featured Image: Photo by Phung Touch: https://www.pexels.com/photo/supreme-court-of-the-usa-17843099/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s own opinions and statements. They do not reflect the opinions or stances of any organization affiliated with the author.
Once again you amaze and impress me with your grasp of relevant and important medical, political and social issues that impact on our society. I look forward to your next article.