Supreme Court denies Biden’s attempt to force Texas emergency doctors to perform abortions

The Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by the Biden administration to compel emergency room doctors in Texas to perform abortions.

The decision leaves in place a January ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Becerra v. State of Texas. The 5th Circuit Court ruled that the administration’s attempt to use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to mandate abortions as necessary, stabilizing treatment “goes beyond” the intent of the law.

In its ruling, the 5th Circuit said that EMTALA “does not mandate medical treatments, let alone abortion care, nor does it preempt Texas law.”

This is the latest development in the administration’s attempt to use EMTALA to mandate abortions as necessary treatment.

The administration has been arguing in court that EMTALA includes abortion as part of the mandated emergency care hospitals must provide. Under this reading of EMTALA, any hospital with an emergency department that refused to perform abortions would risk losing its federal funding.

Matt Bowman, senior counsel at the Alliance Defending Freedom, a law firm involved in the case, applauded the Supreme Court decision, saying that “federal bureaucrats have no business compelling doctors or hospitals to end unborn lives.”

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