Federal judge sides with Texas, blocks federal emergency abortion guidance

A federal judge in Texas blocked the enforcement of emergency abortion guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services. It requires hospitals to provide emergency abortions to women despite state laws or a physician’s religious beliefs on performing the procedure. In Texas, that guidance no longer applies after a judge ruled it was unauthorized and “well beyond” the text of the law, which is “silent on abortion”.

The Biden Administration has been taking steps to reinforce existing laws that could undermine state bans on abortions, including the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The federal law requires anyone coming to an emergency department to be stabilized and treated, regardless of their insurance status. President Biden and the DHHS referred to this law as guidance for emergency rooms to still perform abortions in emergencies. However, the federal judge in Texas said the abortion guidance ignores the emergency health risks of the unborn child.

“Under HHS’s reading, if the doctor initially determines that the unborn child does not have an emergency medical condition, the doctor must then close his or her eyes to the unborn child’s health for the remainder of the treatment. This directly conflicts with the doctor’s ongoing duty to provide care for both the mother and the unborn child when stabilizing a pregnant woman,” US District Judge James Wesley Hendrix said in a statement. “Because the doctor has a duty to both, EMTALA does not require the doctor to introduce an emergency medical condition to one in order to stabilize the other. Again, EMTALA does not say how to balance both interests. It leaves that determination to the doctor, who is bound by state law.”

The decision further protects the state’s pro-life stance. Texas banned abortions performed after a heartbeat could be detected, before Roe was even overturned, through the Heartbeat Bill. The back and forth battle between state and federal decisions on abortion is likely only beginning and will only heat up as it is used as a political pawn come midterms.