U.S. Supreme Court Bars Biden Administration’s Texas Abortion Care Policy
The opinion was a major one, as the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from implementing its policy to force hospitals in Texas to provide emergency abortion care or face losing federal funds on Monday. It is a major blow to administration efforts to begin the process of protecting abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
Lower Court Decision Upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court denied the Department of Justice’s appeal to overturn a lower court ruling vacating the Biden administration’s guidance. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued this guidance, mandating that hospitals must provide emergency abortion services under federal law, even in the absence of state-level policies permitting it. A lower court had sided with the administration, holding that it was in tension with a Texas abortion prohibition.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s move leaves that ruling in place, effectively blocking the Biden administration from enforcing its emergency abortion care policy in Texas pending a fuller review later on.
Impact on Abortion Access
It is a setback for the Biden’s administration efforts to protect abortion rights, particularly in Texas and other states where access to the procedure has been severely constrained. The federal government has been attempting to preserve a cushion on access for abortion, especially in emergencies where the life of the woman is endangered — but that changed after the 2022 Supreme Court rolled back Roe v. Wade and all bets are now off.
Questioning EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act)
The case involves the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires hospitals to stabilize and treat patients in emergency condition regardless of ability to pay. The Biden administration had contended that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act mandates hospitals to provide abortions in the situation where pregnancy complications put a woman at risk.
The plaintiffs in Texas and elsewhere note that EMTALA does not trump state abortion bans. A 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Texas, who won an injunction in the courts against allowing the policy to be put into effect.
Similar Case In Idaho Passed in First Try →
The Supreme Court has heard EMTALA-abortion ban cases before. That case in Idaho, not far from the same question being raised regarding whether federal law should supercede state-level restrictions on Miranda rights in medical emergencies. But the Supreme Court refused to decide that specific case, and instead remanded it to lower courts.
What’s Next?
With the Supreme Court declining to review the Texas law, questions of abortion rights as well as EMTALA and emergency care will be unresolved. The high court may someday need to weigh in again on these issues in different cases, but for now the ruling is a significant setback for abortion-rights advocates pushing to keep abortions accessible in places that have attempted to severely restrict and even ban the procedure.
Conclusion
The fact that the Supreme Court did not stop Texas from implementing its ban, raised many issues about how to square federal law with state abortion bans. In Texas, the immediate outcome is that hospitals will not have to provide emergency abortion care — for now, reducing access even further.
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