Doctors must offer abortion if patient’s life at risk, Biden rule says. What to know

On July 11, the Biden administration said doctors must offer abortions if a pregnant person’s life is at risk and assured medical providers that abortions conducted under those circumstances will be protected by federal law.

The decision comes shortly after the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and strip constitutional protections for abortions. The court’s move allows individual states to ban abortions or otherwise place restrictions on the procedure, and clinics in several states have already stopped performing abortions altogether, the Associated Press reported.

But on July 8, President Joe Biden signed an executive order intended to ease access to abortions, calling the Supreme Court’s decision an “exercise in raw political power.”

The executive order is intended to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare services, protect patient privacy and access to accurate information about abortion care, and promote safety and security of both abortion providers and patients, according to a statement released by the White House.

Shortly afterward, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that physicians must provide abortion services if a patient is experiencing an emergency medical condition “as defined by (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act)” and if an abortion would be a “stabilizing” procedure.

But how does the rule work? Here’s what you should know.

Emergency medical care includes abortion services nationwide, government says

In a letter to healthcare providers, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the federal law protecting abortions in the case of an emergency overrides any state rules restricting access to abortions.

“It is critical that providers know that a physician or other qualified medical personnel’s professional and legal duty to provide stabilizing medical treatment to a patient who presents to the emergency department and is found to have an emergency medical condition preempts any directly conflicting state law or mandate that might otherwise prohibit such treatment,” Becerra said.

Some of the circumstances that may warrant an abortion to stabilize a pregnant person’s health include complications of pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy where a fetus develops outside the uterus) and emergent hypertensive disorders, like preeclampsia with severe features (a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication).

But those aren’t the only circumstances where the rule could apply, Becerra’s letter said. Any pregnant person experiencing an emergency medical condition defined by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act could legally receive an abortion to protect their health and life.

The EMTALA requires hospitals to prioritize patients’ lives

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, was passed in 1986 with the intention of making sure everyone has access to emergency medical services regardless of their ability to pay, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The Biden administration’s rule isn’t new, but essentially reminds healthcare providers, lawmakers and civilians around the country that abortions due to various pregnancy complications are protected under that existing 1986 law, Reuters reported.

Hospitals that don’t want to lose their Medicare status have to follow the rule

If the government receives complaints that a hospital has not been following the rules set by EMTALA, including the requirement to provide abortions in the event that a patient’s life is at risk, it could be “subject to termination of its Medicare provider agreement,” Becerra’s letter said.

Hospitals or individual physicians could also be required to pay civil monetary penalties.

Fines for violating the rule could range from $60,000 to $120,000, Bloomberg News reported, along with the potential blockage of Medicare and Medicaid payments to physicians or hospitals that fail to comply with the rule.

Access to abortions in other circumstances is still up in the air

Although the rule protects access to abortion in the event that a patient’s life is at risk, access to abortions in other situations is still up in the air and subject to different laws in different states.

Biden’s executive order does not prevent states from enacting laws to restrict abortions in other circumstances, and there’s still pressure on the Biden administration and on Democratic lawmakers to take steps to codify Roe v. Wade into law, Axios reported.

Meanwhile, health experts say they expect a rise in maternal deaths in a post-Roe America due to lack of access to obstetric care, as well as reduced or completely restricted access to abortion care depending on a person’s location, the outlet reported.

But Tara Sander Lee, director of life sciences at the anti-abortion organization Charlotte Lozier Institute, told Axios that it is “dishonest and scientifically inaccurate” to say data shows a tie between the maternal mortality rate and abortion restrictions.

The Biden administration has responded to criticisms by saying that actions it has considered taking to protect abortion rights would not be protected by the Supreme Court, given that the governing body was responsible for overturning Roe in the first place, Politico reported.

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