VIRTUAL – The United States Supreme Court released their decision in
Moyle v. United States
, determining that patients in Idaho can receive emergency medical care, including abortion, for the time being, but failed to address whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects the right to emergency abortion care in every state.
Following oral arguments in the case this spring, nearly
6,000 doctors with the Committee to Protect Health Care
, hailing from all 50 states, released a letter asking the Supreme Court to uphold EMTALA’s federal protections nationwide.
Ahead of the anticipated decision from the Court, physicians from states around the country gathered virtually to share
what's at stake for their patients should emergency abortion care not be protected in all states under EMTALA
, which has ensured people can get life-saving medical care, including abortion, since 1986. They called for the passage of ballot initiatives in their respective states to ensure that medical decisions remain in the hands of patients, their families, and their physicians.
View a recording of the call here
.
“Many people may not know, or may have forgotten, that before EMTALA, hospitals could turn away patients who showed up at emergency rooms,” said Dr. Joseph Adashek, a maternal-fetal medicine physician in Las Vegas, NV. “For-profit hospitals would deny care to uninsured patients, forcing them to try to get care elsewhere, no matter the risk to their health. That’s why we’re working on a petition initiative to enshrine abortion rights into the Nevada Constitution. Passing this initiative would add another layer of legal protection for abortion care in the state, ensuring that patients have the freedom to make private medical decisions without government interference.”
Dr. Cecilia Grande, a member of the Committee’s Reproductive Freedom Taskforce, is an OBGYN in Miami, FL, where abortion is banned at six weeks, and said, “One of my patients recently had non-invasive prenatal blood testing that showed suspected Trisomy 18. She then had an abnormal abdominal ultrasound. This patient did diagnostic testing but it would take multiple days to hear results and had to decide whether to wait for results or leave the state immediately for care. Even if she waited for the results, we would then need to get two doctors to attest that most cases are fatal, and then try to find a hospital that would allow us to schedule the procedure, which many are hesitant to do. That’s why I support Amendment 4, to get all politicians out of private medical decisions.”
Dr. Emily Fleming, an emergency medicine physician in Whitefish, MT, shared examples of situations in which pregnancy complications put a patient’s life at risk, saying, “Vaginal bleeding from incomplete miscarriage or internal bleeding from ectopic pregnancy can quickly become life threatening. There is often very little time to act before a pregnant patient’s life is at risk. These patients are invariably scared, and often in pain. The details of each patient’s situation are unique and these health care decisions are incredibly nuanced. These decisions should be made by patients and their physicians, without external factors and uninvolved parties exerting undue influence. Without state protections for abortion care, Montanans could be denied life saving care. By passing Constitutional Initiative 128, we can enshrine in our state constitution the freedom for Montanans to make their own reproductive decisions about pregnancy and abortion.”
Dr. Jennifer Smith, an OBGYN in St. Louis, MO, which has a total abortion ban, said, “Every week, Missourians are being denied abortion care and are being forced to carry pregnancies against their will, no matter the risk to their health. Women miscarrying are being turned away from emergency rooms, and doctors are being forced to wait for patients’ conditions to get worse before treating them. I have had a patient bleeding through her clothes in the second trimester who had to drive to Illinois for care because in Missouri we couldn’t prioritize her life over the life of her fetus. Thankfully, Missourians have an opportunity to pass an amendment to end our state’s cruel total abortion ban and put women, with their families and their doctors, back in charge of their own decisions around pregnancy.”
Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, an emergency medicine physician in Glendale, AZ, discussed the need for the Arizona Abortion Access Act, saying, “June 24th marked the second anniversary of the
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
decision issued by the United States Supreme Court. Supporters of this decision purported to be leaving abortion access up to states. But physicians have seen what’s happened in states where abortion is banned, and it’s clear that attacks on reproductive health care didn’t stop with Dobbs. It’s time to get politicians out of our health care decisions, and let doctors do their jobs to protect our patients’ health and lives. I call on my fellow Arizonans to take matters back into our own hands, and put decision-making around health care back with the people, and away from government interference.”