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Supreme Court rules in Texas' favor on emergency abortions

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Photo: Kent Nishimura Getty Images via Agence France-Presse The debate over abortion has gained momentum following a 2022 Supreme Court decision striking down the nation's right to abortion.

Lindsay Whitehurst – Associated Press in Washington

Published yesterday at 7:41 p.m.

United States

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a decision allowing Texas to ban emergency abortions that would violate the state's laws, which are among the strictest in the country.

The justices did not elaborate on the reasoning behind upholding a lower court order, challenged by the Biden administration, that hospitals cannot be forced to perform abortions if they violate Texas law. No dissenting opinions were publicly expressed.

The decision comes just weeks before a presidential election in which abortion is expected to be a hot topic. The debate has gained momentum following a 2022 Supreme Court decision striking down the nation’s right to abortion.

The Biden administration argues that under federal law, hospitals must perform abortions if necessary in cases where a pregnant patient’s health or life is seriously threatened, even in states where it is prohibited.

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Complaints from pregnant women in medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere are on the rise. Hospitals worry that some of the care they deem standard may violate anti-abortion laws.

The White House tried to defend its decision by pointing out that in a similar case in Idaho earlier this year, the Supreme Court narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume pending a local ruling.

Texas, for its part, has asked the justices to keep the order in place. The state has argued that its case is different from Idaho's because Texas law provides an exception for cases that pose serious health risks to a pregnant patient. At the time the Idaho case began, the northwestern state had an exception to protect a woman’s life, but not her health.

The Texas Supreme Court had already ruled that doctors don’t have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to legally perform an abortion.

Doctors, however, have warned that the Texas law is dangerously vague, and a medical board has declined to list conditions that allow exceptions to the law.

Terminations have long been a standard treatment for women with serious complications, including as a preventative measure against sepsis and organ failure.

In Texas and other states where abortion is strictly prohibited, doctors and hospitals are unsure whether such terminations are legal. Violating the law can result in a prison sentence.

The Texas issue began after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. That led to abortion restrictions in many Republican states.

The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals must still perform abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patient in medical distress.

Texas sued over the guidelines, arguing that hospitals cannot be forced to perform abortions that violate local law. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that Washington had overstepped its authority.