Biden administration officials are reminding hospitals that they are required by law to perform emergency abortions following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, in a letter to hospitals and provider groups, stressed that it remains the legal duty of hospitals to provide stabilizing medical treatment, including abortions, to patients who are in a medical emergency, The Hill reported Wednesday.
The letter acknowledged that the decision didn't resolve questions about whether state abortion bans supersede federal law. Still, the officials stressed that the order means women in Idaho, where the Supreme Court case originated, can obtain emergency medical care.
"No pregnant woman or her family should have to even begin to worry that she could be denied the treatment she needs to stabilize her emergency medical condition in the emergency room," the letter stated.
However, the officials wrote that they have heard "story after story describing the experiences of pregnant women presenting to hospital emergency departments with emergency medical conditions and being turned away because medical providers were uncertain about what treatment they were permitted to provide."
The court's case centered on the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Under that law, hospitals receiving federal funds must provide stabilizing care to emergency room patients, even if they can't pay for services.
After the court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the Department of Health and Human Services sent out letters to doctors saying that the federal law also required that doctors provide abortions if needed to keep a woman medically stable.
Idaho, however, argued that its almost total ban on abortions superseded federal law because it included an exception for cases involving the life of the pregnant woman, but not in emergency cases to stabilize the person's health.
Enforcement in Texas, with its six-week abortion ban, will remain on hold because of a lower court's ruling.
The letter further stated that investigations of complaints from emergency rooms will proceed in Idaho and other states, as lower court investigations continue.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.