The Biden Administration Attacks the Unborn and Federalism

A s Idahoans, we believe in the right to life and in the Tenth Amendment. Since President Biden has been in office, both of these principles have been under attack. In Idaho, we have one of the strongest pro-life laws in the country. Unfortunately, the Biden administration is trying to use federal power to undermine our state law in the service of a radical pro-abortion agenda. I am happy to stand with elected officials not only in Idaho but across the country to fight for life and oppose this federal overreach.

Like most Idahoans, I believe that unborn children’s lives are precious and that our most basic right is the right to life. The Biden administration’s attack on Idaho law is more than jeopardizing the lives of future generations; it is also threatening the balance of power between the federal and state governments as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.

The Supreme Court, in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, made it clear that states, not the federal government, should determine the laws governing abortion. As a result, many states passed laws opposing abortion on demand.

Largely to pacify anti-life activists such as Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Biden administration is targeting each of these laws — clearly disregarding states’ authority to determine their own abortion policies. As a result, the Supreme Court will once again play referee. It is hearing Moyle v. United States of America and State of Idaho v. the United States of America, which will determine whether the Biden administration’s flawed interpretation of a federal law — the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) — can supersede state law.

Idahoans elected pro-life leaders in both the state and Washington, D.C., and they have done so for decades to protect the lives of the unborn and support mothers. To codify the protections that the majority of Idahoans support, the state legislature passed and the governor signed the Defense of Life Act. The law makes it clear: Abortion is unlawful except in medically necessary cases when the life of the mother is in jeopardy.

Idaho’s law contains clear provisions to ensure that if the life of the mother is in jeopardy, medical professionals can and should do whatever is necessary to save lives — both of the mother and, if possible, the baby.

The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), however, asserts that this statute contradicts protections in EMTALA, a pro-life law intended to ensure that anyone who needs necessary care from an emergency room receives it. In its push to destroy Idaho’s defense of life, HHS has cherry-picked pieces of EMTALA and wrongfully interpreted them to allow emergency-room doctors to provide abortions, which would blatantly contradict the statute’s lifesaving purpose. EMTALA does not mention abortion once, yet it mentions the health of “the unborn child” multiple times.

HHS also ignores the fact that there is no federal right to abortion. The Biden administration disregards the Supreme Court’s clear language in order to create opportunities for abortion in any way possible. To counteract this federal abuse of power and make our position abundantly clear to the president, several of my Republican colleagues and I submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. I will also continue to work in the Senate to stop the Biden administration’s numerous attempts to enact pro-abortion policies.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court will decide whether Idaho’s law stands. It is my hope that it sees reason and stands with the rule of law, ultimately supporting the sanctity of life.