FEDERAL LAW

Biden Admin Tells Hospitals They Must Perform Abortions in Medical Emergencies

Federal health officials issued guidance to doctors and hospitals Monday reiterating that a federal law on emergency treatment overrules state abortion bans.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, some doctors and hospitals are grappling with how to balance state-specific abortion bans with a federal law requiring they provide treatment to patients in medical emergencies. On Monday, the Biden administration sought to clarify such confusion, with federal health officials issuing guidance that said hospitals “must provide” abortions if a pregnant person requires it to medically stabilize. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, officials said, overrules state laws banning abortions. Though officials hope that the updated guidelines, which do not include any new protections or laws, clarify the rules to doctors and hospitals, some still feel that they lack specificity. “It doesn’t clarify all that it needs to around what exists as an emergency and what is stabilizing treatment,” a George Washington University health policy and law professor told The Wall Street Journal.