The brief was filed in the consolidated cases of Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, wherein the United States has challenged the State of Idaho’s restrictive reproductive health care law that conflicts with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which guarantees necessary stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions.

“The hard truth is that Idaho’s attempt to carve out an exception to the federal guarantee of emergency medical care for pregnant women raises critical concerns for businesses across the country, especially those that are women-owned and operated,” said Reed Smith appellate partner Patrick Yingling, who co-authored the brief.

The business-focused brief details how state restrictions on reproductive health care:

• Impact businesses, both in the state and in broader economies
• Impact career decisions for workers and students across industries
• Result in maternity care deserts, which are becoming alarmingly more common in the U.S., especially in states with strict legal restrictions on reproductive health care

Signatories to the amicus brief include the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce (USWCC), which, with more than 500,000 members, is the largest nationwide organization focused on promoting women’s economic development.

The Small Business Majority (SBM), a non-profit that lobbies for health care reform on behalf of small businesses, also signed onto the brief, as did such companies as Amalgamated Bank, Argent, Bumble Inc., KraveBeauty, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Match Group, Inc., and Yelp.

Yingling co-authored the brief with Reed Smith partners Sarah Cummings Stewart and Jim Martin, and associates Sarah Johansen and Martha Kiela. Stewart co-created and coordinates Reed Smith’s Post-Dobbs Pro Bono Committee, which partners with non-profits, such as the Center for Reproductive Rights and Democracy Forward, along with members of the business community on significant initiatives in support of reproductive rights.

The firm’s business-focused brief follows another amicus brief the team filed in the Texas Supreme Court in December 2023 on behalf of more than 50 leading businesses, organizations and individuals, including many of the signers of today’s amicus brief. The Texas brief in Zurawski v. Texas argues that ambiguity in the state’s abortion bans are having a negative impact on the Texas economy – including an estimated $14.5 billion in lost revenue each year.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in the consolidated Idaho cases in late April, with a decision expected by late June or early July.