A panel of judges in a federal appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the Biden administration cannot force emergency room doctors in Texas to perform abortions to stabilize patients.
The lawsuit stems from guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in July 2022 that requires doctors in states like Texas, where most abortions have been banned, to comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).
A 1986 federal law requires ER physicians to provide abortions when necessary as part of stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Pro-Life American Society of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Christian Medical & Dental Association challenged the guidance of the Biden administration.
The Biden administration issued guidance in July 2022 requiring doctors to perform abortions if necessary to stabilize patients in emergency situations. AFP via Getty Images Texas largely bans abortion unless the mother is at risk of serious injury or death. Reuters
“The question before the court is whether EMTALA, according to the HHS Guidance, obligates physicians to provide an abortion when it is stabilization treatment necessary for an emergency medical condition. It doesn’t,” the decision handed down by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stated. “Therefore, we decline to expand the scope of EMTALA.”
“EMTALA does not mandate medical care, let alone abortion care, nor does it preempt Texas law,” the three-judge panel – all appointed by the Republican president – concluded.
The Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court order barring enforcement of the guidelines in Texas.
“We agree with the district court that EMTALA does not confer an unqualified right on a pregnant mother to abort her child especially when EMTALA imposes a similar obligation of stabilization,” the fifth circuit opinion stated.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt sided with his colleagues on the Fifth Circuit that doctors must obey state abortion laws. Senate.gov
The Biden administration issued the guidance in response to the June 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, paving the way for states to ban abortion.
Texas abortion law prohibits the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected unless it is necessary to save the mother’s life or the pregnancy poses a “serious risk of significant damage to major bodily functions.”
Doctors who perform abortions in Texas risk criminal penalties of up to life in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Last year, a federal judge in Idaho blocked the state from enforcing its abortion ban, ruling that it conflicted with EMTALA.
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit later stayed the lower court’s decision pending Idaho’s appeal.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
