Catholics for Choice Heads to the Supreme Court to Protest Moyle v. United States
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Contact: Ashley Wilson, Strategic Communications Advisor
Phone: 202-294-4081
Email: media@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice Heads to the Supreme Court to Protest Moyle v. United States
WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority, released the following statement from President Jamie L. Manson, M.Div., in advance of Supreme Court oral arguments in Moyle v. United States, which will determine whether Idaho’s statewide abortion ban supersedes federal law under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). EMTALA requires any hospital that receives federal funding to provide emergency medical treatment to stabilize a patient, including reproductive healthcare services like abortion.
“One of the fundamental truths of the United States is that it was founded on the separation of church and state. Limiting abortion — or any medical care — based on a theological concept of when life begins should not ever be a factor in our federal or state laws.
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has already violated religious freedom and issued decisions about abortion that undermine our right to make reproductive health decisions without government interference. The Dobbs decision was a direct result of religious overreach by Catholic actors like Leonard Leo and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who enabled and awarded judicial activism in pursuit of Christian nationalist ideas. Now, Leo has partnered with the Alliance Defending Freedom — a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group — to further undermine reproductive freedoms, even in emergencies when lives are literally at stake.
“When a patient has a medical emergency, medical professionals must be able to focus on the patient’s health and stabilization. There should be no more important priority for doctors than providing life-saving medical care. But today’s case questions whether an abstract, theological opinion can threaten the life of a pregnant person facing a medical emergency.
“Catholics for Choice is at the Supreme Court today to proclaim that doctors, not doctrine, must inform our health decisions and our laws. The federal law in question, The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, prioritizes patients’ well-being and allows doctors to take into account the medical emergency before them. It must take priority over the religiously motivated Idaho ‘Defense of Life’ Act.”
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Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.
