The Supreme Court declined to hear the Biden Administration’s appeal against a ruling upholding Texas’ abortion ban and blocking the enforcement of the EMTALA.
What happened
On October 7, 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear the Biden Administration’s appeal regarding a lower court ruling from July 2023 that upheld Texas’ strict abortion ban. The ruling asserted that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) does not override state laws restricting abortion access.
The lower court’s decision stated that while EMTALA requires healthcare providers to offer emergency care to save a mother’s life or prevent severe harm, it also requires effort to deliver the unborn child, complicating the decision making process for doctors. As a result, Texas’s abortion law remains in effect, limiting legal abortions to cases where the mother's life is clearly at risk.
This ruling contrasted Moyle v United States, where the Supreme Court allowed emergency abortions to continue while litigation against the state’s abortion restriction was ongoing.
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What was said
In a press release, the Attorney General of Connecticut commented on the matter, “Abortion is safe, legal, and protected in Connecticut today, and this disappointing denial by the U.S. Supreme Court does not change that. Instead of protecting the lives and health of women in the most severe of medical emergencies, this decision puts lives at risk. These draconian state abortion bans are not going away, and we’re going to keep fighting in every court, in every state where patients’ lives and freedom are under threat.”
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The big picture
In July 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobb’s v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the HHS issued guidance reminding hospitals of their obligation under EMTALA.
Texas and two organizations challenged this guidance in court leading to a District Court injunction that prohibited the HHS from enforcing the EMTALA related to abortion in Texas. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this ruling and the Supreme Court has denied the Biden administration's petitions for review.
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FAQs
What is the right of preemption?
The principle that federal law takes precedence over state laws when there is a conflict between the two.
What is the difference between the Privacy Rule and the Privacy Act?
The Privacy Rule is part of HIPAA, the Privacy Act is a federal law that governs how federal agencies collect, use, and disclose personal information.
Is abortion data PHI?
Yes.
Kirsten Peremore
