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

U.S. Supreme Court. / Credit: PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 7, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by the Biden administration to compel emergency room doctors in Texas 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 intent of the law.

In its ruling, the 5th Circuit said that EMTALA “does not mandate medical treatments, let alone abortion care, nor does it preempt Texas law.”

This is the latest development in the administration’s attempt to use EMTALA to mandate abortions as necessary treatment.

The administration has been arguing in court that EMTALA includes abortion as part of the mandated emergency care hospitals must provide. Under this reading of EMTALA, any hospital with an emergency department that refused to perform abortions would risk losing its federal funding.

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

“Every state allows doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve the life of a mother. But elective abortion is not lifesaving care — 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 decided the 5th Circuit’s ruling should stand, allowing emergency rooms to fulfill their primary function — saving lives.”

Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN who practices in Texas and serves as director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, also praised the decision.

“As a board-certified OB-GYN practicing in Texas for over 30 years, I have been privileged to care for both pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. I have delivered over 5,000 babies over the course of my career, and after Texas passed its law protecting unborn life, my care remained unchanged,” Skop said.

She also noted that “the laws of every state allow physicians to intervene to protect a woman’s life in a pregnancy emergency.”

This follows another decision by the Supreme Court issued in June that upheld a ruling in a similar case, Moyle v. Idaho. That decision allowed the federal government to compel emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions.