United States: The Biden Administration has asked the appeals court of the United States to allow healthcare providers to perform abortions for patients with emergency medical conditions. This request has been presented by the administration even if it would conflict with the abortion ban in Texas.
In narrow circumstances, the new appeal – Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, may raise a conflict with the abortion ban in Texas, a lawyer with the US Department of Justice – McKaye Neumeister, highlighted.
Neumeister highlighted that this guidance is not a new policy but was merely a “reminding hospitals of what (EMTALA) has always required.”
What is the Texas Abortion Ban?
According to the report, under Texas law, abortion is performed to save the life of the mother. Whereas, under EMTALA, the doctors in the emergency room have to provide “stabilizing treatment” to the patient with an “emergency medical condition,” according to the reports by Reuters.
Guidance by the US Department of Health and Human Services
Last year, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued a rule elaborating that EMTALA holds priority over the state laws banning abortion. This decision was taken following the US Supreme Court changing its 1972 decision on Roe v. Wade, which had allowed abortion worldwide. The change allowed states controlled by Republicans, like Texas, to create new laws that emphasize abortion bans.
The rule will not conflict with the Texas law: Texas Attorney General’s office
One of the officers of the Texas Attorney General – Natalie Thompson, expressed that this new law will not conflict with the existing Texas law as EMTALA did not provide any specific medical treatments.
She highlighted that the guidance by the government went beyond the law and was “untenable to the extent that it allows doctors to act outside the law,” according to Reuters.
5th Circuit Panel
The case was investigated by the three members of the 5th Circuit Panel – Circuit Judges Leslie Southwick, Kurt Engelhardt, and Cory Wilson – who were appointed by the presidents of the Republicans. Both sides were questioned by the judges; however, clear judgment regarding the indication of the rule was not explained.
A preliminary order to block HHS from enforcing the guidance in Texas was issued by US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix. The statement was released in August 2023 after finding that the guidance “discards the requirement to consider the welfare of unborn children when determining how to stabilize a pregnant woman,” Reuters reported.
It is to be noted that the condition of the fetus is evaluated while providing treatment to a pregnant patient under EMTALA. In this regard, the judge underscored that EMTALA says nothing about the conflicts between the health of the mother and the fetus, and the void is filled by the Texas law.