DESTINY WELLS RESPONDS TO MOYLE V. UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISION
INDIANAPOLIS—Destiny Wells, Democratic candidate for Indiana Attorney General, responded totoday’s Moyle v. United States Supreme Court of the United States decision affirming access to mifepristone – a safe, effective, FDA-approved medication that more than five million people have used over the last two decades.
“Since I returned home from serving in Afghanistan in 2017, I realized more than ever that women are the barometer of a healthy democracy,” Wells stated. “As Attorney General, I will stand by each Hoosier’s ability to determine their healthcare decisions—today’s SCOTUS decision preserving access to lifesaving medication is a win for American liberty.”
Background:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the State of Idaho, arguing that the severity of the state’s abortion ban – which does not include an exception for women’s health – conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to patients in emergency rooms, even if that means abortion care.
EMTALA preempts state laws, meaning that even if an abortion ban is in place medical providers can step in to treat and stabilize patients, even if that means with abortion care. (Note: Even with EMTALA protections, medical providers in states with extreme bans like Texas are struggling to understand where their hands begin to be tied by state abortion bans.)
In heated oral arguments on this case, justices tried to get clarity on what treatments would be covered, such as abortions that would preserve a woman’s organs, her fertility, prevent debilitating kidney diseases, etc. The anti-abortion defense by Idaho could not commit to which health-threatening conditions could legally be treated with abortion under their state laws.
