WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could determine whether doctors can provide in states that enact abortion bans.
The Justice Department has over its abortion law, which allows a woman to get an abortion only when her life 鈥� not her health 鈥� is at risk. The state law has raised questions about when a doctor is able to provide the stabilizing treatment that federal law requires.
The federal law, called the , or EMTALA, requires doctors to stabilize or treat any patient who shows up at an emergency room.
Here鈥檚 a look at the history of EMTALA, what rights it provides patients and how a Supreme Court ruling might change that.
WHAT PROTECTIONS DOES EMTALA PROVIDE ME AT AN ER?
Simply put, EMTALA to offer a medical exam if you turn up at their facility. The law applies to nearly all emergency rooms 鈥� any that accept Medicare funding.
Those emergency rooms are required to stabilize patients if they do have a medical emergency before discharging or transferring them. And if the ER doesn鈥檛 have the resources or staff to properly treat that patient, staff members are required to arrange a medical transfer to another hospital, after they鈥檝e confirmed the facility can accept the patient.
So, for example, if a concerned that she is in labor but there is no OB/GYN on staff, hospital staff cannot simply direct the woman to go elsewhere.
WHY WAS THIS LAW CREATED?
Look to in the early 1980s.
Doctors at the city鈥檚 public hospital were confronting a huge problem: Thousands of patients, many of them Black or Latino, were arriving in very bad condition 鈥� and they were sent there by private hospitals in the city that refused to treat them. Most of them did not have health insurance.
Chicago wasn鈥檛 alone. Doctors working in public hospitals around the country reported similar issues. Media reports, including one of a pregnant woman who delivered a stillborn baby after being turned away by two hospitals because she didn鈥檛 have insurance, intensified public pressure on politicians to act.
Congress drafted legislation with Republican Sen. David Durenberger of Minnesota , 鈥淎mericans, rich or poor, deserve access to quality health care. This question of access should be the government鈥檚 responsibility at the federal, state, and local levels.鈥�
Then-President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, signed the bill into law in 1986.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A HOSPITAL TURNS AWAY A PATIENT?
The hospital is investigated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If they find the hospital violated a patient鈥檚 right to care, they can lose their Medicare funding, a vital source of revenue for most hospitals to keep their doors open.
Usually, however, the federal government issues fines when a hospital violates EMTALA. They can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
WHY IS THE SUPREME COURT LOOKING AT THE LAW?
Since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has repeatedly reminded hospitals that his administration considers an abortion part of the stabilizing care that EMTALA requires facilities to provide.
The Biden administration argues that Idaho鈥檚 law prevents ER doctors from offering an abortion if a woman needs one in a medical emergency.
But Idaho鈥檚 attorney general has pointed out that EMTALA also requires hospitals to consider the health of the 鈥渦nborn child鈥� in its treatment, too.
WHAT ARE ADVOCATES SAYING?
Anti-abortion advocates argue that state laws banning abortion can coexist with the federal law that requires hospitals to stabilize pregnant patients in an emergency.
The prominent anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called the lawsuit in Idaho a 鈥淧R stunt,鈥� in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
鈥淭he EMTALA case is based on the false premise that pregnant women cannot receive emergency care under pro-life laws," said Kelsey Pritchard, the group鈥檚 state public affairs director. "It is a clear fact that pregnant women can receive miscarriage care, ectopic pregnancy care and treatment in a medical emergency in all 50 states."
But many doctors say it鈥檚 not as clear cut as anti-abortion advocates claim. Idaho鈥檚 state law banning abortion, except for the life of the mother, has left some doctors weighing if a patient is close enough to death to treat.
Most other states allow doctors to perform abortions to save the health of a mother. But, if the Supreme Court rules in Idaho鈥檚 favor, it could invite other states to pass restrictions without that exemption.
In a statement released Monday, Jack Resneck, the former president of the American Medical Association, said Idaho鈥檚 law forces doctors to withhold proper treatment for patients.
The state鈥檚 鈥渄angerous standard cannot be applied to the real-life situations faced in emergency departments every day,鈥� Resneck said. 鈥淭here is no bright line when each patient鈥檚 condition suddenly reaches 鈥渓ife-threatening,鈥� and deteriorating patients don鈥檛 want their physicians delaying care.鈥�
Amanda Seitz, The Associated Press
