The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take up the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to reverse a block on a federal law that would force healthcare providers to perform abortions.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in summer 2022, the Biden-Harris administration issued new guidance under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. They argued the law meant Medicare-participating hospitals were required to provide emergency stabilizing treatment for medical conditions, including abortion as a form of “care,” although the act itself does not mention the term “abortion.”
Paxton sued the federal government over the guidance and a federal district court issued an injunction blocking it from being implemented in August of 2022.
Texas asserted that the federal guidance is unnecessary since the state’s pro-life law does have exceptions for emergency care for mothers, including when a pregnancy imposes a threat on the mother’s life or will cause substantial impairment of a major bodily function.
Paxton argued the federal guidance would force medical providers to act against state law.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the injunction in January. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the decision to stand.
“If the HHS guidance had taken effect, Texas doctors and medical institutions could have faced severe financial consequences, such as being excluded from Medicare, for refusing to violate State law in order to comply with the unconstitutional federal mandate,” stated Paxton.
“This is a major victory at SCOTUS that will protect Texas medical providers from being forced to violate State law,” added Paxton. “No Texas doctor should be forced to violate his or her conscience or the law just to do their job. We successfully sued and stopped the Biden-Harris Administration’s backdoor attempt to overrule State abortion laws.”
Texas Right to Life President John Seago celebrated the outcome on social media, commenting that the federal guidance was simply “a new vague standard that would only lead to more confusion” while Texas’ pro-life law “has clear & sufficient provisions for treating women in med[ical] emergencies.”
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