• Press Release

Amnesty International Response to Supreme Court Ruling in Case Challenging the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act

June 27, 2024

abortion rally in front of Supreme Court
(Amnesty International)

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Idaho vs. United States & Moyle vs. United States, Amnesty International USA’s National Director of Programs, Tarah Demant, said: 

“While today’s decision is a temporary relief, it is not a victory for people who can get pregnant.  The Supreme Court ruling today temporarily overrules an Idaho ban on abortion in medical emergencies as further litigation moves forward regarding Idaho’s total abortion ban.  But healthcare shouldn’t be an issue for courts to decide, and Idaho’s ban—with or without highly limited exceptions—should not exist in the first place.  

“At its core, these cases have always been an attack on the right to abortion and an attempt to allow the government to intervene in healthcare decisions that pregnant people have the right to make without politicians breathing down their neck.   

“Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, we’re facing a human rights crisis in this country when it comes to abortion access. Too many people still cannot access the healthcare, including abortions, they need. Abortion rights opponents and politicians continue to push for bans and restrictions wherever they can.  

“Abortion is a human right, for all people, everywhere. As the rest of the world is liberalizing laws and ensuring that pregnant people have access to abortion, the United States has moved in the wrong direction. We are glad that this ruling did not make it even harder for people in specific situations to get an abortion, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that the right to an abortion is available to all people in this country.”

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