The Trump administration announced on Tuesday is to rescind Orientation of the Biden era that uses a federal law to demand hospitals to stabilize patients who need emergency care, even providing abortion.
In July 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ORIENTATION EMITTED That, according to the Law of Medical Treatment and Emergency Work (Emala), doctors must carry out abortions in emergency departments, even in states where the procedure is illegal, particularly if it serves as a “stabilizing medical treatment” for an emergency medical condition.
Emergency medical conditions included, among others, “ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss or emerging hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe characteristics.”
Emala, which was approved in 1986, ensures that emergency patients receive services and treatment, regardless of payment capacity. Hospitals that refuse to provide “necessary stabilization care” or “an appropriate transfer” may face civil monetary sanctions.
The HHS guide was one of the Biden administration attempts to preserve access to abortion after the United States Supreme Court annulled Roe V. Wade, who ended federal protections for abortion rights.
On June 24, 2024, file photo, abortion rights activists protest in front of the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC
AASHISH KIPHAYET/MEDIA EAST through AFP through Getty Images, Archive
However, HHS and Medicare and Medicaid service centers (CMS) rescinds the guide, as well as a Letter accompanied by former HHS Xavier Becerra secretary, saying that “they do not reflect the policy of this administration.”
“CMS will continue to apply to Emtala, which protects all the people who present themselves to an emergency department of the hospital that seeks an exam or treatment, even for the identified emergency conditions that place the health of a pregnant woman or her child not born in serious danger,” reads a press release of the agency.
“CMS will work to rectify any legal confusion and instability created by the actions of the old administration,” the press release continued.
The abortion rights groups, such as the American Union of Civil Libertads, criticized the administration and accused President Donald Trump to return to a campaign promise not to interfere with access to abortion.
“By terminating this guide, the Trump administration has sent a clear sign that it is not in the slope position, but with its anti-abortion allies, and that will come at the expense of women’s life,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU reproductive freedom project, he said in a statement. “The ACLU will use each lever we have to prevent President Trump and his administration from endangering our health and lives.”
The Biden Administration Guide has faced legal challenges in the past. In January 2024, a Federal Court of Appeals ruled that Texas hospitals and doctors are not obliged to perform emergency abortions despite the orientation.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Department of Justice dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Administration Biden against the Idaho state, claiming that its prohibition of almost total abortion violated Emtala.
