STATEMENT RELEASE: Doctors for America Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on EMTALA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996

June 27, 2024

Doctors for America Statement on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on EMTALA

Washington, D.C.: Doctors for America (DFA) applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho, thereby preventing Idaho from enforcing its restrictive abortion ban when a life-saving abortion is needed to stabilize pregnant people with emergency medical conditions that do not fit within the state laws’ exceptions. 

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted nearly 40 years ago to ensure that when a patient – including those who are pregnant – goes to an emergency room with an urgent medical issue, hospitals that receive federal funds must either provide treatment to stabilize the patient or transfer the patient to a medical facility that can. EMTALA requires hospitals to provide this care. EMTALA requires hospitals to provide this care regardless of the patient’s ability to pay and regardless of abortion-restrictive state laws. 

Though we are grateful for this decision, we remain deeply concerned for the future of emergency abortions under EMTALA. Given that the Supreme Court dismissed the case for procedural reasons as “improvidently granted” rather than tackling the broader question of state abortion bans that conflict with EMTALA, this decision simply allows for more proceedings in the lower courts. It should not be interpreted as a decision guaranteeing patients’ rights to undergo emergency abortions under EMTALA. 

DFA is deeply troubled by continued attacks on the reproductive health and safety of our patients. Courts continue to place their political agendas before science and safety. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stated in her opinion, “Today’s decision is not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho. It is a delay. While this Court dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing emergency medical conditions remain in a precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the dark about what the law requires.” With at least four other states with abortion bans that do not include exceptions for the health of the pregnant person, namely Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, and a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling earlier this year that emergency care protected under EMTALA in Texas does not include abortions, the Supreme Court’s lack of clarity on EMTALA means that pregnant persons and emergency physicians will continue to “[pay] the price.”

DFA Board Chair Dr. Christine Petrin said in response to the ruling, “While we appreciate this temporary relief, it’s imperative to recognize that the battle for reproductive rights under EMTALA is far from over. The Supreme Court’s failure to address fundamental questions leaves healthcare providers and their patients in a state of uncertainty. Healthcare providers, not politicians, should determine the necessary treatments in medical emergencies to ensure the health and well-being of our patients.”

“The Court’s decision to return the EMTALA question to lower courts makes it all the more important for states to do everything they can to protect and expand access to abortion,” said Dr. Polly Wiltz, Chair of DFA’s Public Health Outreach Committee and Emergency Resident-Physician. “New York State’s recent telehealth shield law, which helps to protect New York doctors even when they provide abortion care across state lines, is a good example of what pro-choice legislatures can and should do.”

For press inquiries for Doctors for America or the Reproductive Health Coalition regarding clinician members willing to speak on this issue please contact Claire Onyechi with Continuum Health Group ([email protected]). 

About Doctors for America:

Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. We are 27,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies. This uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter @drsforamerica.

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