Texas sues health secretary over emergency abortion guidance
Associated PressThe state of Texas sued the federal government Thursday after the Biden administration said federal rules require hospitals to provide abortions if the procedure is necessary to save a mother’s life, even in cases where state law mostly bans the procedure. “The Biden Administration seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said as he announced the lawsuit. “It is unconscionable.” The lawsuit comes after the Biden administration told hospitals on Monday that they “must” provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, saying federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws that have near total bans on the procedure, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right. “When a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life of the pregnant person — or draws the exception more narrowly than EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition — that state law is preempted,” the letter said. Moayedi, the Dallas doctor who is also a board member with Physicians for Reproductive Health, said the federal government’s guidance wasn’t helpful — and that Texas’ lawsuit instills fear among healthcare providers statewide.