The Supreme Court will likely have another opportunity to consider whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act overrides state abortion bans that conflict with it. The case is going back to the 9th Circuit to decide whether there is a conflict between Idaho and federal law. The losing party will probably appeal to the Supreme Court.

In another case pending before the Supreme Court, Texas has challenged the Biden administration’s assertion that the federal law preempts laws that would ban abortions in cases of obstetric emergencies. Both the lower federal court and the 5th Circuit concluded that the federal act did not override Texas’ abortion bans.

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to consider the Texas case, but the court has not yet decided whether to do so. If it does, then the questions related to the federal law will be back again in the next Supreme Court term, which begins in October.

By the time the case gets back to the Supreme Court, a different president may have taken office, and their administration may have a different view of what the act requires.

Because there are two conflicting federal court rulings in the 9th and 5th circuits on whether the federal law overrides state abortion bans, this Supreme Court ruling has no impact in other states.

In dismissing the case rather than addressing its merits, the Supreme Court has not taken a position as to whether the federal law preempts state laws when there is a conflict. This means that health care providers in the many states that have enacted near-total abortion bans still face a dilemma where, as public health professor Sara Rosenbaum put it, pregnant patients have “become radioactive to emergency departments.”

It is also noteworthy that this is the second time in a single month that the court has ducked an abortion-related issue. Earlier in June 2024, it dismissed a challenge to abortion pill access – leaving many unsettled questions about access to abortion in the United States.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia and Sonia Suter, George Washington University

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Can states prevent doctors from giving emergency abortions, even if federal law requires them to do so? The Supreme Court will decide

Most state abortion bans have limited exceptions − but it’s hard to understand what they mean

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.