Trump administration rescinds Biden-era emergency abortion guidelines
FILE-Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump administration is revoking guidance to U.S. hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions for women when they are needed to stabilize their medical condition.
According to the AP, the administration announced on Tuesday that it would no longer enact the policy in a move that raised concerns for some doctors and abortion rights advocates.
Trump ending Biden-era abortion policy
The backstory:
In 2022, guidance was issued to hospitals after the Supreme Court ended national abortion rights in the U.S. by overturning Roe v. Wade. It was an effort by the Biden administration to preserve abortion access for extreme cases in which women were experiencing medical emergencies and needed an abortion to avoid organ loss or serious hemorrhaging, and other serious complications.
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According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration contended that hospitals, including facilities in states with near-total abortion bans, needed to provide emergency abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
The law requires emergency rooms that receive Medicare dollars to provide an exam and stabilizing treatment for all patients. Almost all emergency rooms in the U.S. rely on Medicare funding.
In 2024, the AP reported that even with that guidance, multiple pregnant women were being turned away from emergency rooms, including some who needed emergency abortions.
Abortion rights advocates and doctors respond
The other side:
News of the Trump administration rejecting the emergency abortion guidelines led to reactions from medical organizations and abortion rights advocates.
"The Trump Administration would rather women die in emergency rooms than receive life-saving abortions," Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement provided to the Associated Press. "In pulling back guidance, this administration is feeding the fear and confusion that already exists at hospitals in every state where abortion is banned. Hospitals need more guidance, not less, to stop them from turning away patients experiencing pregnancy crises."
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Anti-abortion advocates, meanwhile, praised the administration’s announcement. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the Biden-era policy had been a way to expand abortion access in states where it was banned.
"Democrats have created confusion on this fact to justify their extremely unpopular agenda for all-trimester abortion," she said. "In situations where every minute counts, their lies lead to delayed care and put women in needless, unacceptable danger."
According to the Associated Press, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which provides supervision of hospitals, said in a statement obtained by the AP that it will continue to enforce the federal law that, "including for identified emergency medical conditions that place the health of a pregnant woman or her unborn child in serious jeopardy."
The CMS concluded by saying it would also "rectify any perceived legal confusion and instability created by the former administration's actions."
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which received comments from a medical organization and anti-abortion and abortion rights organizations on the policy change. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.