U.S. House Democrats introduced a resolution Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, that would clarify when health care providers can use abortion as emergency medical care. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats introduced a resolution Thursday that would clarify when health care providers can use abortion as emergency medical care amid a patchwork of state laws that have led to dozens of stories of women being turned away from emergency departments when experiencing complications or miscarriages.
The two-page resolution would express “the sense of the House of Representatives” that abortion is a form of stabilizing care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, a law from the 1980s.
“Since the overturn of Roe v Wade, more than two years ago, we’ve heard horrifying stories of pregnant women being turned away from emergency rooms or unable to receive the life-saving care that they need due to cruel state abortion bans, even though the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, also known as EMTALA, requires emergency rooms to treat and stabilize pregnant patients,” Ohio Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes said during a press conference just outside the U.S. Capitol.
Lives are at risk. And despite clear federal law and additional guidance from the Biden administration, states across the country are refusing to treat pregnant women in emergencies.
– U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-New Jersey
The resolution, Sykes said, would clarify that women have access to the full slate of reproductive health care “in a life or death situation.”
New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill cited analysis from The Associated Press that more than 100 women have been turned away from emergency departments or negligently treated while experiencing pregnancy distress since 2022.
“It’s an outrage,” Sherrill said. “Lives are at risk. And despite clear federal law and additional guidance from the Biden administration, states across the country are refusing to treat pregnant women in emergencies.”
The resolution wouldn’t actually change the language of EMTALA or enact any new laws, but would express “the sense of the House of Representatives that every person has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care.”
The Biden administration issued a public letter two years ago, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, that EMTALA protected doctors and qualified health care professionals who perform abortions to preserve the health of a pregnant patient or save a patient’s life.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote at the time that “no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care.”
That interpretation of EMTALA was challenged by numerous Republican states, eventually reaching the U.S. Supreme Court this year.
The justices, however, decided in June to send the case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, writing that the high court took the case too early and should have waited until after the lower court had heard the case and issued its ruling.
The appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case in early December.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said during the press conference the resolution is necessary to ensure women in states with bans or significant restrictions on abortion can consider all their options with their doctor when their life or health is at risk.
“We’re here because emergency health care is a legal right and a moral obligation,” Clark said. “This is a straightforward resolution. For Democrats, it’s common sense.”
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