Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the Biden administration to block federal guidance that medical professionals must perform abortions in emergency situations.
Paxton is seeking to defend state laws outlawing the procedure and said that the administration is attempting to use federal law “to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic.”
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The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas, where 10 of 12 judges were appointed by Republican presidents, six of whom by former President Donald Trump.
The suit concerns the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which guarantees that anyone coming to an emergency department will be stabilized and treated regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
The Biden administration clarified on Monday that the law compels medical professionals to perform abortions in life-threatening situations that include, but are not limited to, ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders such as preeclampsia with severe features. While the latest Health and Human Services announcement does not implement any new guidelines, it aims to make clear that any state law that is more stringent than the law authorizes is superseded.
“This administration has a hard time following the law, and now they are trying to have their appointed bureaucrats mandate that hospitals and emergency medicine physicians perform abortions,” Paxton said. “I will ensure that President Biden will be forced to comply with the Supreme Court’s important decision concerning abortion and I will not allow him to undermine and distort existing laws to fit his administration’s unlawful agenda.”
Paxton’s lawsuit is the first in response to the administration’s announcement on Monday. The Texas suit argued that the guidance overstepped the federal government’s authority under the law and trampled states’ rights.
“The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) that Defendants cite as the basis for their Abortion Mandate does not authorize — and has never authorized — the federal government to compel healthcare providers to perform abortions,” the suit says.
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Under Texas law, abortion is banned after six weeks except for cases in which the mother’s life is at risk. There are no abortion providers left in Texas.
