The US Supreme Court on Monday (October 7) upheld a decision by the appellate court to ban emergency abortions. The Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled that the Biden administration cannot invoke the 1986 federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, to require Texas hospitals to violate state law by performing abortions. Texas is one of the strictest states in the U.S. when it comes to abortion restrictions.
The justices did not provide detailed explanations for their decision to uphold the lower court’s order, nor did they publicly disclose why they rejected the Justice Department’s request to reverse the lower court’s ruling and seek a rehearing.
The court order states that if hospitals violate Texas’ abortion ban, the federal government may not require them to provide termination services.
This Supreme Court ruling comes just weeks before the presidential election. Since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide legalization of abortion in 2022, abortion has been a key issue in the presidential race.
The justices rejected the Biden administration’s request to overturn the lower court’s order. The administration believes that under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), if a pregnant patient’s health or life is at serious risk, hospitals must provide abortion services, even in states where abortion is prohibited.
Hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion bans have faced difficulties in determining whether they are in compliance with the standards of federal law while abiding by state abortion regulations, leading to a surge in complaints from emergency rooms.
The Biden administration pointed out a similar case in Idaho earlier this year where the Supreme Court justices allowed emergency abortions to resume by a narrow majority while the litigation continued.
However, Texas argues that its case is different from Idaho’s as the state does have exceptions for cases where there are serious risks to the health of pregnant women. At the start of the Idaho case, the state had exceptions for risks to women’s lives but not their health. Texas is urging the Supreme Court justices to uphold the original court ruling.
Texas states that the state Supreme Court ruling clarifies that doctors do not have to wait until a pregnant woman’s life is directly threatened before legally providing abortion services.
However, doctors express concerns that Texas’ law is too ambiguous and poses risks, with the medical board refusing to list all scenarios that qualify for exceptions.
Aborting pregnancies has long been a means to treat severe complications, preventing sepsis, organ failure, and other major issues. However, in Texas and other states with strict abortion bans, doctors and hospitals indicate uncertainty regarding whether these procedures violate abortion restrictions that could result in imprisonment.
This case in Texas began after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, returning abortion regulation authority to individual states. Many Republican-controlled states have enacted abortion restrictions. The Biden administration issued guidelines asserting that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act takes precedence over state abortion bans, requiring emergency rooms to provide treatment that stabilizes the condition of any emergency patient, thus hospitals still need to offer abortion services in emergency situations.
Texas has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s guidance, arguing that hospitals should not be required to violate bans by providing abortion services. The Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state government in January, ruling that the government’s guidance exceeded its authority.
(*This article references reporting from the Associated Press*)