pro life movement Archives

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch and fellow GOP Rep. Russ Fulcher filed an amicus brief Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of defending the state’s pro-life case against the Biden administration, the Daily Caller learned first.

In a press release obtained by the Daily Caller, two leading Republicans were joined by the state’s entire delegation, along with 24 U.S. senators, and 93 U.S. representatives, to advocate for the pro-life law, the Defense of Life Act, after the Biden Administration previously attempted to override it. Prior to the GOP leaders’ move, an opening brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 by the state’s Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador asking the high court to intervene in a legal battle between federal officials, motivating Republican leaders to also push for the case.

“Idahoans have passed a strong law to protect the lives of mothers and the unborn, yet the Biden administration is seeking every opportunity to expand abortion. This administration cherrypicked pieces of existing statute and wrongfully reinterpreted it to fit their agenda,” Risch stated. “Their manipulation of federal law cannot usurp state law, and there is no federal right to an abortion. This amicus brief demonstrates how the administration’s substantial federal overreach is aimed at undermining pro-life protections not only in Idaho but around the nation.”

In 2020, Idaho enacted a measure that made it a felony for doctors to perform most abortions, with exceptions when “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman” or within the first trimester if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Following Roe v. Wade’s overturning in June 2022, the law came into effect. However, nearly two months later in August, the Justice Department sued the state over the measure.

The Biden administration claimed that the state was in violation of the Constitution and was ultimately prevented by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). However, the state claims that there is not only no conflict between EMTALA and Idaho’s law, but also argues that the Biden administration is attempting to “rewrite” the health act to prevent the state from enforcing the pro-life law, according to Labrador.

23-726 Amicus Brief of 121 … by hailey

EMTALA, enacted by Congress in 1986, requires hospitals with emergency departments to provide any patient with a medical examination and prohibits the departments from “refusing to examine or treat individuals with an emergency medical condition.” Notably, while there is a duty to pregnant women and the “health” of her unborn child within EMTALA, there is no mention of abortion.

While the state continued its back-and-forth legal battle with the Ninth Circuit panel, by January, SCOTUS ultimately placed a stay on two cases, Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, that were impacted by the Biden administration.

“The case of Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States involves an elective, induced abortion which is against Idaho law,” Fulcher stated. “The Biden administration has no authority to use EMTALA to avoid holding these individuals accountable for breaking the law, and this sets a precedence that is harmful to women and children around the country.”

The GOP leaders are seeking to have the amicus brief clarify EMTALA’s correct definition, proper federal use, and the determination of no Constitutional right to an abortion based on the SCOTUS ruling within Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Additional supporting organizations behind the legal move are: Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, National Right to Life, March for Life Action, Americans United for Life, Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, Catholic Vote, Concerned Women for America, Family Policy Alliance and Human Coalition Action.

“The Supreme Court has ruled it is the states’ ability to protect the right to life, yet the Biden Administration continues to exercise federal overreach to advance its abortion agenda,” state Republican Sen. Mike Crapo stated. “The Administration must stop its ongoing attacks on state-issued pro-life protections, including in Idaho.”

Arguments for the cases are set to appear before SCOTUS during their April session.

AUTHOR

HAILEY GOMEZ

General assignment reporter.

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Religious Americans had several major legislative and legal victories in 2023.
The Supreme Court’s June decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis secured a victory for a Christian wedding photographer, and Jake Warner, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, said he believes it will help Christian baker Jack Phillip’s case, as well.
“The government can’t force anyone to express messages that goes against their beliefs and because we appealed Jack Phillip’s case to the Colorado Supreme Court before 303 Creative was decided the state Supreme Court will be the first to be able to apply that decision in Jack’s current case,” Jake Warner, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Advocates for faith won several major victories this year through the legislature and the court, despite a growing hostility toward religious communities.

There were several examples of anti-religious sentiment over the past year, some of which included an FBI-drafted memo targeting traditional Catholics as “potential domestic terrorists” and the University of West Virginia’s transgender training labeling Christians as oppressors. However, 2023 also boasted several victories for religious Americans in schools, the workplace and the pro-life movement.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Christian web designer Lorie Smith, who sued the state of Colorado over a law that would have compelled her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples in violation of her religious beliefs. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices wrote that “tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer” and that all Americans, including religious ones, should be able to freely express their beliefs as they see fit and “not as the government demands.”

As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Attorney General Jason Miyares of Virginia agreed to settle a lawsuit in November with Christian wedding photographer Bob Updegrove, who sued in September 2020 over a similar state law that would have prevented him from promoting his belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.

The case will also likely have a significant effect on another religious case that has been going on for a decade involving Christian baker Jack Phillips, who initially won at the Supreme Court in 2018 after he refused to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. Phillips was sued again in 2021 for refusing to bake a cake for a gender transition party, and his attorney previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he believed Smith’s case would be key to defending free speech for religious Americans in Phillip’s lawsuit.

“The government can’t force anyone to express messages that goes against their beliefs and because we appealed Jack’s case to the Colorado Supreme Court before 303 Creative was decided the state Supreme Court will be the first to be able to apply that decision in Jack’s current case,” Jake Warner, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom and Phillips’ attorney, told the DCNF.

The Colorado Supreme Court announced in October that it would hear Phillip’s case next year.

In March, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina agreed to settle with the Christian pro-life groups Cities4Life and Global Impact Ministries after several members were arrested in 2020 for praying and counseling women outside an abortion clinic. The county agreed to pay the plaintiffs $20,000 for damages, attorney fees and any costs incurred by the pro-life groups, as well as acknowledge that the groups have the right to “peaceful advocacy on public sidewalks and public streets.”

“The courts have upheld religious freedom in several important court cases recently,” Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council, told the DCNF. “This is very encouraging and it affirms our First Amendment rights.”

Schools also saw improvements in religious freedom this year. Texas lawmakers passed a bill in May allowing schools to hire chaplains for the position of school counselors.

The bill was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June and went into effect on Sept. 1, according to KXAN, an NBC affiliate.

In June, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a 3-2 decision. The online school will be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.

The proposal was supported by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who previously told the DCNF that “those dollars should flow wherever a parent, a school district, a charter wants to set up.” The state’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond, however, responded to the decision by filing a lawsuit in October, claiming that the charter violates state and federal Constitutions.

Coach Joe Kennedy, who won a lawsuit at the Supreme Court in 2022 after being fired for his public demonstrations of faith during football games, was rehired by Bremerton School District and prayed on the field for the first time since 2015 after the season-opening game in September.

Kennedy resigned from his position later that month, noting that an out-of-state family member’s health was declining and that he wished to move full-time into advocating for religious freedom.

“I believe I can best continue to advocate for constitutional freedom and religious liberty by working from outside the school system so that is what I will do,” Kennedy wrote.

Del Turco said that though she was pleased with the progress made in 2023, there are still serious areas of concern for the year ahead.

“Threats to religious freedom in the private sector are concerning. We’ve seen several instances in which Christian or conservative organizations and individuals have had their bank accounts or credit cards closed without any explanation,” she said. “This is something to keep an eye on. Someone’s religious beliefs should not get them blacklisted from financial institutions in a free society. When the mainstream media goes out of its way to mock and slander someone like Speaker Mike Johnson, who by all accounts is a decent human being and effective political leader, it seems to signal growing intolerance of faithful Christian leaders.”

AUTHOR

KATE ANDERSON

Contributor.

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Tag Archive for: pro life movement

HAILEY GOMEZ

KATE ANDERSON