Biden administration issues postruling reminder on emergency abortions
![Biden administration issues postruling reminder on emergency abortions](https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/TOP-SCOTUS_042424_AP_Joy-Asico-Smith.jpg?w=900)
The Biden administration is reminding hospitals and physicians they are legally required to perform emergency abortions to stabilize the health of a patient, in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that allowed current law to remain in place for now.
In a letter sent to hospitals and provider groups Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said it is a hospital’s legal duty to offer necessary stabilizing medical treatment to all patients in medical emergencies, even if that means performing an abortion.
The letter noted that while Supreme Court did not resolve the question about whether state abortion bans can supersede federal law, the order means that women in Idaho, where the case was centered, are able to access needed emergency medical care.
“No pregnant woman or her family should have to even begin to worry that she could be denied the treatment she needs to stabilize her emergency medical condition in the emergency room,” they stated in the letter.
“And yet, we have heard story after story describing the experiences of pregnant women presenting to hospital emergency departments with emergency medical conditions and being turned away because medical providers were uncertain about what treatment they were permitted to provide,” the officials wrote.
The case centered on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires federally funded hospitals to provide stabilizing care to emergency room patients no matter their ability to pay.
Shortly after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Department of Health and Human Services quickly invoked EMTALA and sent letters to doctors, saying that they were required to provide abortions in emergency medical situations when they were needed to keep a woman medically stable.
But Idaho argued its near total abortion ban overrides the federal requirement, because it has an exception for life but not health. Idaho argued states can create a carveout for abortion under the emergency law if the patient’s life is not at risk.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the letter Tuesday said investigations of emergency room complaints would proceed in Idaho and other states while litigation continues in the lower courts.
But the court’s lack of action means that enforcement in Texas, the country’s most populous state with a strict six-week abortion ban, will still be on hold because of a lower court ruling.
Date: | |
Tag: | Joe Biden |
Filter
-
The Hill - Politics
Why abortion isn’t the winning issue Democrats think it is in 2024
Biden’s party planned to run on “Dobbs and democracy,” but their pro-abortion push is losing steam.Abortion -
The New York Times - Health
Biden Administration Opposes Surgery for Transgender Minors
The statement followed a report in The Times that a federal health official had urged the removal of age minimums from treatment guidelines for transgender minors.Joe Biden -
The Hill - Politics
Judge blocks Biden administration's new transgender health protections
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked enforcement of a new Biden administration rule bolstering health care protections for LGBTQ people, handing a preliminary legal victory to more than a dozen Republican-led states that challenged it ...Joe Biden -
ABC News - Health
Judge temporarily blocks Biden's restoration of transgender health protections
A federal district court judge has temporarily halted parts of a nondiscrimination rule that would have kept insurers and medical professionals from denying hormone therapy, gender transition surgeries and similar medical care for transgender peopleJoe Biden -
ABC News - Health
Abortion measures could be on Arizona and Nebraska ballots after organizers submit signatures
Arizona and Nebraska organizers have turned in enough signatures to get abortion-related questions before their states' voters in NovemberAbortion -
Politico - Politics
Biden prepares emergency funding request to Congress for Baltimore bridge collapse
Joe Biden -
NBC News - Top stories
Judge blocks Biden administration rule against gender identity discrimination in health care
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in health care.Joe Biden -
The Guardian - World
Biden says he’s best qualified to beat Trump, brushes off low polling and denies cognitive issues – live
President says in occasionally tense ABC interview he is not dropping out and believes he’s the best candidate to win. Full story: Biden calls Trump debate a ‘bad episode’Joe Biden has cancelled his upcoming Sunday address to the National ...Joe Biden -
The Wall Street Journal - World
Supreme Court Limits Administrative Power
Chief Justice John Roberts reached back in history and reminded us of the past.
More from The Hill
-
The Hill - Politics
Here's how the process to replace Biden works if he withdraws
Amid rising pressure for President Biden to withdraw from the race, questions are looming over the mechanics of getting another Democrat on the ballot ahead of November. Democrats do have a path forward: The filing deadline for the party to get ...Joe Biden -
The Hill - Politics
Heritage faces blowback after 'bloodless' revolution comment
The Heritage Foundation and its president, Kevin Roberts, are facing blowback in the wake of his comment about an ongoing second American revolution that will “remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” President Biden’s campaign jumped on the ... -
The Hill - Politics
Law schools left reeling after latest Supreme Court earthquakes
The Supreme Court isn't making it easy to be a law professor these days. After overturning the 40-year-old Chevron deference last week, the justices threw law curricula for another major loop on Monday with their earth-shaking ruling on ... -
The Hill - Politics
Democrats take aim at Supreme Court with eyes on November
Democrats are aiming their fire at the Supreme Court after this week’s monumental ruling that granted former President Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution, hoping that a messaging blitz focused on the bench could turbocharge campaigns ... -
The Hill - Politics
Trans state legislators slam White House opposition to gender-affirming surgery for minors
A group of transgender and nonbinary state legislators sent a letter to the Biden administration criticizing its decision to oppose gender-affirming surgery for minors. In the letter, the lawmakers said transgender youth in America have been under ...