(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that healthcare providers who perform abortions in emergency situations are protected under federal law regardless of bans that are in place in their states.
The new guidance comes days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to ease access to services to terminate pregnancies after the U.S. top court’s landmark decision last month to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling, upending roughly 50 years of protections for women’s reproductive rights.
“Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care. Today, in no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects providers when offering legally-mandated, life- or health-saving abortion services in emergency situations, the new guidance from the federal agency said.
EMTALA requires that Medicare hospitals provide all patients an appropriate medical screening, examination, stabilizing treatment, and transfer, if necessary, irrespective of any state laws or mandates that apply to specific procedures.
In a separate letter to providers, Beccera said the statute protects their clinical judgment and the action they take to provide stabilizing medical treatment to pregnant patients, regardless of the restrictions in the state where they practice.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
