CMA Celebrates DOJ Dropping Idaho Lawsuit

March 11, 2025

The Catholic Medical Association (CMA) applauds the Department of Justice (DOJ) for dropping the previous administration’s lawsuit attempting to force Idaho to allow abortions.

“CMA celebrates the protection of the sanctity of life,” said President Michelle Stanford, M.D.  We applaud the DOJ and their decision to allow the unborn the right to life in Idaho.”

Idaho’s law, the Defense of Life Act, protects women and unborn children by preventing abortion unless medically necessary to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.

Despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Dobbs which gave the power to individual states to decide abortion law, the Biden Administration’s DOJ sued Idaho claiming that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986 was violated by Idaho’s law. EMTALA was designed to provide stabilizing treatment at emergency rooms regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, yet the lawsuit claimed this act mandated abortion in emergency rooms.

The Catholic Medical Association, along with other partner organizations, joined the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in filing an amicus brief in support of the state of Idaho. The state has been fighting the lawsuit in court since 2022 until the DOJ filed a motion to drop the lawsuit on March 5, 2025.  

“Physicians understand EMTALA regulations and their proper implementation,” said Dr. Tim Millea, CMA board member and chairman of the Health Care Policy Committee. “With the dismissal of this case, physicians in Idaho and nationwide can once again do their job.”