There was an update on Jul 11, 2022,7pm.
The Biden Administration said Monday hospitals are required under federal law to provide abortions in emergency situations, and staff will be protected from any state-level abortion bans, as federal officials grapple with a push to outlaw abortion in many states.
If they're medically necessary, hospitals need to provide abortions.
According to the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, if a physician determines an abortion is necessary to save a patient in an emergency, they must provide that treatment.
Hospitals could be fined if they violate the law.
According to the HHS, since the 1986 federal law protects your clinical judgment and the action that you take to provide stabilizing medical treatment to your pregnant patients, physicians could potentially use the federal law to defend themselves against state enforcement action.
Emergency situations under the law include ectopic pregnancies, stillbirths of pregnant women, and hypertensive disorders.
In no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services, and that federal law doesn't prohibit abortion in emergency care.
It is not clear how states that have moved to ban abortion will respond to Monday's guidance. Many states with abortion bans on the books have exceptions if the patient's life is at risk, but their language is often vague, leading critics to warn of a chilling effect.
Several states have enacted near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court's decision last month. President Joe Biden promised to preserve abortion access for patients who live in states with bans. He ordered HHS to find ways to protect emergency abortions and keep abortion medication available, and promised to defend patients' right to travel to get an abortion. The idea of codifying abortion into federal law faces an uphill battle as it lacks the support from Republicans necessary to clear the Senate's 60-vote rule.
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