Biden says hospitals must provide abortions in emergencies despite state law

The Biden administration said Monday that hospitals must ensure patients can receive abortions when deemed medically necessary in emergency situations in spite of bans in many states on the procedure in most cases.

The Department of Health and Human Services said a federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, stipulates that physicians must perform an abortion in an emergency regardless of state law.

"Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Today, in no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services, and that federal law preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care."