Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge Against Texas Emergency Room Abortion Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear arguments on whether Texas’ abortion ban conflicts with federal emergency healthcare laws, handing a victory to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a significant defeat to reproductive rights advocates and the Biden administration.
The challenge, following the Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, centered on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden administration argued that the federal law mandates hospitals to provide emergency care, including abortions when medically necessary, regardless of state laws. Texas, however, sued to block this federal guidance, a decision upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in January.
Paxton, in his lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022, argued that the administration aimed to turn emergency rooms into “walk-in abortion clinics.”
While Texas’ abortion ban allows exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk or if she faces “substantial impairment of a major bodily function,” advocates like the Dallas-based Afiya Center argue that the vague language creates confusion about when an abortion is legally permissible. They fear the ruling will worsen the state’s already high maternal mortality rates.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene leaves Texas’ abortion ban and the healthcare providers under its jurisdiction in a state of legal uncertainty, with penalties for providers who violate the ban ranging from fines to criminal penalties and the revocation of medical licenses.
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