Supreme Court Declines Biden Administration’s Appeal in Texas Emergency Abortion Case
The Supreme Court refused to review the Biden Administration’s appeal seeking to reverse a lower court decision about emergency abortion care in the state of Texas. The lower court had decided that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) doesn’t override Texas’s abortion restriction, a decision that now remains in effect.
Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, several states, including Texas, enacted some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. Texas prohibits nearly all abortions, with limited exceptions for saving a mother’s life or preventing considerable impairment of her physical functions. However, the vague wording of these exceptions has caused concern among doctors, who state that abortions can only be performed when a mother’s life is clearly in danger, not merely in cases where her health or reproductive abilities are at risk. This leaves healthcare providers at risk of criminal charges if they perform abortions on moms at risk of harm.
In July 2022, the Biden Administration released guidance clarifying that EMTALA calls for healthcare providers to offer stabilizing care in emergency medical situations, which could include abortion in specific cases. However, Texas, along with two anti-abortion medical groups, filed a lawsuit challenging this guidance, claiming it interfered with the state’s authority to control abortions. A lower court sided with Texas, stopping the implementation of the Biden Administration’s guidance within the state and for members of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists. The Biden Administration appealed the decision, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling.
Circuit Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled that although EMTALA mandates emergency care to save a mother’s life or prevent serious harm, it also requires healthcare providers to prioritize delivering an unborn child. His decision effectively left it to doctors to balance the healthcare needs of the mother and unborn baby while following state regulations. The Department of Justice brought the case before the Supreme Court, but the justices refused without explanation, leaving the lower court’s ruling still in effect.
At the beginning of this year, a similar case arose in Idaho, where the Biden Administration challenged the strict abortion ban. In the Moyle v. United States case, the Supreme Court allowed emergency abortions to proceed temporarily while legal battles over the state’s abortion restrictions continued. However, the situation in Texas remains unchanged, with the state’s restrictive abortion laws still in place. HIPAA-covered healthcare providers in Texas need to follow this regulation.