Biden’s Abortion Safety Net Has A Few Holes In It

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(Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

It is not news to say that living with a uterus is a little more dangerous after Dobbs. Whether it is unwanted pregnancy or cancer treatment, the overturn of Roe and Casey has left people with questions? Besides shamelessly asking for money —

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The Democrats had a month to prepare an emergency response to the Dobbs decision, a response that would have provided immediate help to women who had abortion appointments this week. Instead, they spent the time preparing fundraising spam. They make the Uvalde cops seem proactive

— Jeffrey St. Clair, CounterPunch (@JeffreyStClair3) June 27, 2022

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— how will Democrats respond to this loss of civil liberties?

A silver lining is that Biden and Co. think that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) could be a temporary failsafe against the six Supreme Court Justices whose commitment to a right wing version of Jesus’ gospel is stronger than their commitment to uphold the rule of law.

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Abortions performed to save a patient’s life or well-being are legally protected regardless of state laws that may prohibit them, according to guidance issued by federal officials said Monday.

Officials pointed to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law passed in 1986, which requires hospitals to treat people experiencing emergency medical conditions, including pregnant patients whose health is in “serious jeopardy.”

“Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press release. “Today, in no uncertain terms, we are reinforcing that we expect providers to continue offering these services, and that federal law preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care.”

This is by no means a panacea — the problem of determining what counts as an emergency remains a deadly naming game.

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McNicholas adds that pregnant patients in Missouri or states with similar laws "will suffer unnecessary harm as doctors wait for permission from hospital lawyers to tell them that they can proceed. In some circumstances, the abortion care will come too late."

— Jennifer Shutt (@JenniferShutt) July 12, 2022

I strongly believe that reliance on this law is a crutch. Sure, Federal Preemption is a basic tenet of Constitutional law that pretty much every court before this one has respected. That said, if there’s a Court situated to discover that Preemption only prevents state laws that prevent gun access and has no word on healthcare, this would be the one.

While it is true that the Supreme Court has no general rules for judicial ethics, I do wish they had some semblance of shame. It brings me no joy to know that as my friends lose civil rights the justices responsible are broadcasting their schadenfreude or complaining that the true tragedy is that they can’t enjoy their slabs of beef with their family.

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God Bless America. Looks like they won’t be saving us any time soon. And Turley’s making a muck definitely won’t make getting adequate healthcare any easier…

Abortions Are Federally Protected When A Pregnancy Is Life-Threatening Regardless Of State Law, The Biden Administration Says [Buzzfeed News]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Topics

Abortion access, Abortion Rights, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, Emergency Response Fund, Joe Biden, Roe v. Wade