Headline Roundup • July 11th, 2022
Biden Administration Says Physicians Must Provide Abortions in Medical Emergencies
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Physicians are required under federal law to provide abortions in the case of medical emergencies, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The action, titled the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), will penalize hospitals that decline to provide abortions by terminating their Medicare provider agreement or charging them with fines. EMTALA ensures that all Americans, regardless of their social status, have access to emergency medical services. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Monday wrote in a letter to healthcare providers that the federal law "preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care."
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade a few weeks ago, at least a dozen states have moved forward with their own abortion restrictions — some of which already allow exceptions for medical emergencies. Last week, President Joe Biden responded to pressure from the Democratic Party and signed an executive order that will strengthen medical privacy laws and expand access to contraception.
Coverage across the spectrum noted that the "vague" guidelines have left physicians confused about what constitutes an emergency abortion under a state ban.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Alex Wong/Getty Images
The Biden administration released updated guidance on Monday, reminding doctors around the country that they’re protected by federal law if they terminate a patient’s pregnancy as part of treatment in an emergency circumstance — and threatening to fine or strip the Medicare status from hospitals that fail to do so.
The action, announced just over two weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, comes in response to reports of widespread confusion in states that have enacted bans about when doctors can perform abortions without risking prosecution. It’s one of...
Shawn Thew/Reuters
Physicians must provide abortions in medical emergencies under federal law and will face penalties if they decline to offer the procedure in these cases, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote in a letter to health-care providers on Monday.
Becerra said federal law pre-empts state abortion bans in cases where women face medical emergencies associated with pregnancy under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. If an abortion is necessary to treat a woman facing a medical emergency, physicians must offer the procedure, the health secretary wrote.
Hospitals...
Washington Examiner
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...
