The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court decision surrounding emergency room abortions in Texas, marking a blow to the Biden administration as it sought to appeal.
The move comes months after the high court handled a similar case from Idaho without reaching a conclusive decision, further complicating President Joe Biden’s efforts to promote abortion access after the overturning of Roe v. Wade two years ago.
The decision leaves intact a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in favor of Texas on the question of whether a federal law concerning emergency room care in some cases overrides state abortion restrictions.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal group known for its success in the case that overturned Roe, celebrated the decision in a statement.
“Every state allows doctors to do whatever is necessary to preserve the life of a mother. But elective abortion is not life-saving care — it ends the life of the unborn child — and the government has no authority to force doctors to perform these dangerous procedures,” said ADF senior counsel Matt Bowman.
Both the Texas and Idaho cases involve a federal law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires that patients, including pregnant women enduring major complications, receive appropriate emergency room care at hospitals that receive federal funding.
In the Idaho case, the Supreme Court punted on a major ruling over the matter in June.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said following the Idaho decision that “women in Idaho should once again have access to the emergency care that they need while the case proceeds in the lower courts” but contended that “it does not change the fact that reproductive freedom is under attack.”
Becerra on Monday said “reproductive rights are under assault” in response to the decision by the court.
“The Biden-Harris Administration remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring women get the care that they need,” he added.
In the Texas case, a federal judge explicitly ruled against the administration, saying the federal government had overstepped its authority by issuing guidance. That decision was upheld at the 5th Circuit level.
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The Texas dispute began after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in 2022, which granted the ability to place gestational limits on abortion to the states.
The Biden administration responded to Dobbs by issuing guidance to federally funded hospitals, telling them they still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under EMTALA.
