by The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is rescinding federal guidance that required hospitals to provide emergency abortions under certain life-threatening circumstances — a significant rollback of a Biden-era effort to protect abortion access.
The guidance, originally issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July 2022, instructed hospitals and doctors that under the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), they were required to provide abortions if deemed necessary to stabilize a patient experiencing a medical emergency — even in states where abortion is banned.
Examples of such emergencies included ectopic pregnancies, severe complications from miscarriages, and hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia, all of which can be fatal if not treated promptly.
Passed in 1986, EMTALA mandates that hospitals provide emergency medical care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Facilities that fail to offer necessary stabilizing treatment — or refuse to appropriately transfer patients — can face stiff civil penalties.
The Biden administration’s guidance was one of its central responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, aiming to preserve access to emergency abortion care in a post-Roe legal landscape.
But in a reversal, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), part of HHS, withdrew that guidance and an accompanying letter from then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, stating they “no longer reflect the policy of this Administration.”
In a statement, CMS said it would still enforce EMTALA to ensure that all individuals seeking emergency care — including pregnant women or those with conditions threatening the life of their unborn child — receive appropriate treatment. However, the agency also promised to “rectify any perceived legal confusion” stemming from the previous guidance.
The move drew sharp criticism from abortion rights advocates. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned the rollback, accusing former President Donald Trump of breaking campaign promises.
“By rescinding this guidance, the Trump administration has sent a clear signal that it is siding not with the majority, but with its anti-abortion allies — and that will come at the expense of women’s lives,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “We will use every lever we have to stop this administration from endangering our health and lives.”
The Biden-era policy had already faced significant legal hurdles. In January 2024, a federal appeals court ruled that hospitals and doctors in Texas were not obligated to comply with the emergency abortion requirement. And earlier this year, the Department of Justice dropped a separate lawsuit against Idaho, which had challenged the state’s near-total abortion ban on EMTALA grounds.
