Checking in on EMTALA: The Status of Nationwide Emergency Abortion Access

rePROs Fight Back

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is a landmark federal law that revolutionized the right to emergency healthcare and provides crucial protections for pregnant people. Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Deputy Director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, sits down to talk with us about the status of the case and what we can continue to do to protect emergency abortion services.

When EMTALA was originally passed by Congress in 1986, the law directed every hospital in the country with an emergency department to provide whatever healthcare was necessary to any individual who visited the hospital presenting with an emergency medical condition. This is especially important for pregnant people, who require intensive attention in and outside of emergency situations. For the nearly 40 years EMTALA has been in effect, it was understood across party lines that if someone needs emergency abortion care, EMTALA protects that access. But following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Idaho’s extreme abortion ban did not feature an exception for those in emergencies. The Department of Justice sued Idaho to ensure EMTALA’s nationwide reach and the case advanced to the Supreme Court. The lawsuit against Idaho has now been dismissed under the new administration.

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