特朗普政府周二宣布撤销拜登时代的指导方针，利用联邦法律要求医院稳定需要紧急护理的病人，包括提供堕胎服务。
2022年7月，卫生与公众服务部(HHS)发布指南根据《紧急医疗和劳动法》( EMTALA ),医生必须在急诊室实施堕胎手术——即使在堕胎手术不合法的州——特别是在紧急医疗条件下作为“稳定医疗”的情况下。
紧急医疗状况包括但不限于“宫外孕、流产并发症或突发高血压疾病，如重度子痫前期。”
1986年通过的EMTALA确保急诊病人无论支付能力如何都能得到服务和治疗。拒绝提供“必要的稳定护理”或“适当转移”的医院可能面临民事罚款。
HHS的指导是拜登政府在2000年后保留堕胎权利的尝试之一美国最高法院驳回了罗诉韦德案，结束了对堕胎权利的联邦保护。
然而，HHS和医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心(CMS)撤销了指南，以及一个前HHS秘书泽维尔·韦塞拉的附信，称它们“没有反映本届政府的政策”
“CMS将继续执行EMTALA，保护所有前往医院急诊科寻求检查或治疗的个人，包括已确定的严重危及孕妇或其未出生婴儿健康的紧急医疗状况，”该机构的一份新闻稿中写道。
“CMS将努力纠正任何由前任政府的行为造成的法律混乱和不稳定，”新闻稿继续说。
美国公民自由联盟(American Civil Liberties Union)等堕胎权利团体批评政府，并指责唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统违背了不干涉堕胎的竞选承诺。
“通过取消这一指导，特朗普政府发出了一个明确的信号，即它不是站在大多数人一边，而是站在反堕胎盟友一边——这将以女性的生命为代价，”美国公民自由联盟生殖自由项目副主任亚历克莎·科尔比-莫利纳斯在一份声明中说声明。“美国公民自由联盟将利用我们拥有的一切手段，阻止特朗普总统及其政府危及我们的健康和生命。”
拜登政府的指导在过去曾面临法律挑战。2024年1月，一名联邦上诉法院裁定尽管有指导，德州的医院和医生并没有被要求实施紧急堕胎。
同时，今年早些时候，司法部驳回诉讼拜登政府对爱达荷州提起诉讼，声称该州近乎全面的堕胎禁令违反了EMTALA法案。
Trump administration rescinds Biden-era guidance requiring hospitals to perform emergency abortions
The Trump administrationannounced on Tuesday it is rescindingBiden-era guidance that uses a federal law to require hospitals to stabilize patients in need of emergency care -- including by providing an abortion.
In July 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)issued guidancethat, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), doctors must perform abortions in emergency departments -- even in states where the procedure is illegal -- particularly if it serves as a "stabilizing medical treatment" for an emergency medical condition.
Emergency medical conditions included, but were not limited to, "ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features."
EMTALA, which was passed in 1986, ensures that emergency patients receive services and treatment regardless of ability to pay. Hospitals that refuse to provide "necessary stabilizing care" or "an appropriate transfer" can face civil monetary penalties.
The HHS guidance was one of the attempts of the Biden administration to preserve abortion access after theU.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections for abortion rights.
However, HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded the guidance, as well as anaccompanying letter from former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra,saying they "do not reflect the policy of this Administration."
"CMS will continue to enforce EMTALA, which protects all individuals who present to a hospital emergency department seeking examination or treatment, including for identified emergency medical conditions that place the health of a pregnant woman or her unborn child in serious jeopardy," a press release from the agency read.
"CMS will work to rectify any perceived legal confusion and instability created by the former administration's actions," the press release continued.
Abortion rights groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, criticized the administration and accused President Donald Trump of walking back on a campaign promise not to interfere with abortion access.
"By rescinding this guidance, the Trump administration has sent a clear signal that it is siding not with the majority, but with its anti-abortion allies -- and that will come at the expense of women's lives," Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, said in astatement. "The ACLU will use every lever we have to keep President Trump and his administration from endangering our health and lives."
The Biden administration's guidance has faced legal challenges in the past. In January 2024, afederal appeals court ruledthat Texas hospitals and doctors are not required to perform emergency abortions despite the guidance.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, the Department of Justicedismissed a lawsuitbrought by the Biden administration against the state of Idaho, claiming its near-total abortion ban violated EMTALA.
