Supreme Court rejects Biden’s attempt to force Texas emergency doctors to perform abortions

Washington, DC Newsroom, October 7, 2024 / 6:00 p.m.

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the Biden administration to force Texas emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

The decision leaves in place a January ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Becerra v. State of Texas. The 5th Circuit Court ruled that the administration’s attempt to use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to mandate abortions as necessary, stabilizing treatment “goes beyond” the intention of the law.

In its ruling, the 5th Circuit said EMTALA “does not mandate medical treatment, much less abortion care, nor does it preempt Texas law.”

This is the latest development in the administration’s attempt to use EMTALA to force abortion as a necessary treatment.

The administration argued in court that EMTALA included abortion in the mandatory emergency care that hospitals must provide. Under this reading of EMTALA, any hospital with an emergency department that refuses to perform abortions would risk losing its federal funding.

Matt Bowman, senior attorney at Alliance Defending Freedom, a law firm involved in the case, applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, saying that “federal bureaucrats have no business forcing doctors or hospitals to put end to unborn lives.”

“Every state authorizes doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve a mother’s life. But elective abortion does not save life – it ends the life of the unborn child – and the government has no authority to force doctors to perform these dangerous procedures,” Bowman said. “We are pleased that the Supreme Court has decided that the 5th Circuit’s decision should stand, allowing emergency rooms to fulfill their primary function: saving lives. »

Dr. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician-gynecologist who practices in Texas and is director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, also welcomed the decision.

“As a board-certified OB-GYN practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have had the privilege of caring for pregnant women and their unborn babies. I have delivered more than 5,000 babies in my career, and after Texas passed its law protecting unborn life, my care remained unchanged,” Skop said.

She also noted that “each state’s laws allow doctors to intervene to protect a woman’s life in a pregnancy-related emergency.”

This follows another Supreme Court ruling in June which upheld a decision in a similar case, Moyle v. Idaho. The ruling allowed the federal government to force Idaho emergency room doctors to perform abortions.