Congressional committee issues report to protect emergency abortions
After several years of legal battles and devastating emergency care situations, the U.S. Senate issued recommendations to alleviate suffering and unnecessary harm.
A U.S. Senate report further supported expert opinions that abortion bans have led to perilous situations for pregnant women who need emergency care involving abortions.
At the core is the conflict between state restrictions and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which mandates that emergency staff must provide all necessary care to save the health and life of patients. Doctors throughout the country have said that they felt a chilling effect on their decisions regarding life-saving abortions in states where there are severe punishments for doing so in situations not permitted.
“The Committee’s investigation has further clarified that abortion bans create devastating patient and provider realities,” the report concluded. “The uncertainty and lack of clarity created by abortion bans and their conflict with EMTALA lead to substandard and deadly care during emergency reproductive health care episodes for pregnant people.”
The Finance Committee released a report this month that was first written about on ProPublica, an investigative journalism outlet that has covered the crisis surrounding abortion care throughout the year. This comes after the committee held a public hearing, “Chaos and Control: How Trump Criminalized Women’s Health Care,” where members heard moving testimony from a patient and a provider about the heartbreaking reality of reproductive health care today in light of restrictive abortion bans across the country.
The report called for abortion rights to be restored nationwide, for EMTALA to be strictly enforced, and the agency responsible, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to be well-funded.
Though those were the ideal actions, the committee members recognized that the incoming Trump Administration would prioritize reproductive rights in states where it’s limited. They said hospital associations, provider groups, and hospitals should work together to provide training, guidance, and resources to doctors on the interplay between EMTALA and abortion bans. Professional medical organizations should issue guidance and publish standards defining appropriate clinical care in obstetric emergencies.
Hospitals should support the full spectrum of providers – OBGYNs, primary care physicians, and family medicine physicians – in becoming certified to prescribe mifepristone. OBGYNs, primary care physicians, and family medicine physicians should proactively counsel pregnant patients on their EMTALA rights and how to report potential violations to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
EMTALA has been central to a continued legal battle within the federal system. In Moyle v. United States, the Supreme Court decided that it would permit hospitals in Idaho to perform abortions in emergency settings. But the victory was temporary. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the decision issued by the District Court could go to the Court of Appeals, where it is currently being considered.