The new HHS actions include training health care workers and educating patients about federal requirements in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTLA) and easing the process for filing complaints against hospitals under that law. The 1986 law requires that Medicare-participating hospitals provide all patients with appropriate medical screening examinations, stabilizing treatment, and transfer regardless of their ability to pay.
Although the law does not specifically mention abortion, the administration believes that “the required emergency care can, in some circumstances, include abortion care.”
The administration has interpreted the law as being more permissive to abortion in some cases than is allowed by laws in some pro-life states — such as Idaho and Texas — and has argued that the federal regulations override the state restrictions. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the administration’s interpretation of this law in June when it is likely to settle a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the state of Idaho.
The Biden administration is also moving forward with efforts to support chemical abortion through executive action. The White House announced that HHS, the DOJ, and the Department of Homeland Security will report on the implementation of the president’s 2023 memorandum to increase access to chemical abortion. The memorandum directed the agencies to draft guidance for patients and health care providers to support access to chemical abortion and to study and provide suggestions on reducing barriers to accessing chemical abortion drugs.
The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has agreed to hear a case filed by pro-life medical groups that challenges the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion drug mifepristone and its subsequent deregulation of the drug. The lawsuit alleges that the FDA’s original approval of the drug did not weigh the potential safety risks for women and that its deregulation — to allow women to receive a prescription without an in-person doctor’s visit and to receive the drug through the mail — also failed to properly weigh safety risks.
In addition to the efforts to expand abortion, the White House statement also touched on the administration’s efforts to support contraception. The White House said HHS will issue a letter to private insurers, state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs, and Medicare plans about obligations to cover “affordable contraception.” The Office of Personnel Management will also issue guidance that requires insurers that participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to educate enrollees about contraception benefits.
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