Trump Admin Sends 'Ominous Signal' On Emergency Abortion Care Guidelines
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday rescinded a Biden-era guideline around emergency abortion care. The move has no direct legal impacts on care, but it sends a clear message on where the Trump administration stands on abortion access.
Abortion advocates also tell HuffPost that the guideline repeal will create more confusion for physicians on the ground, and lead to more delays and denials of care.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rescinded the 2022 guidance around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, also known as EMTALA. EMTALA requires hospitals that participate in Medicare — the majority of hospitals in the country — to offer abortion care if it's necessary to stabilize the health of a pregnant patient while they're experiencing a medical emergency.
The guidance was published by the Biden administration after the Supreme Court repealed federal abortion protections as a reminder to physicians that EMTALA, a federal law, supersedes any state abortion ban.
'As frontline health care providers, the federal EMTALA statute protects your clinical judgment and the action that you take to provide stabilizing medical treatment to your pregnant patients, regardless of the restrictions in the state where you practice,' then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote.
Trump's CMS stated that the previous guidance and accompanying letter 'do not reflect the policy of this Administration.'
'The obligation to provide emergency abortion care comes from EMTALA itself, a federal statute written by Congress,' Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, told HuffPost. 'The Trump administration does not have the power to simply erase that with the stroke of a pen.'
'But it absolutely sends an ominous signal about what this administration is going to attempt to do after promising not to interfere with emergency abortions,' she said.
The announcement came the same day anti-abortion group Catholic Medical Association announced it was dismissing its case, Catholic Medical Association v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and challenging the guidance. Although the guidance simply underlined current federal law, rescinding it will throw physicians into legal chaos.
'The Trump administration doesn't want you to know it, but they just quietly erased guidance that informed hospitals of their obligation to provide lifesaving care for pregnant women facing health care emergencies, like severe hemorrhage or sepsis – circumstances where the only option to save a woman's life may be emergency abortion care,' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a Tuesday statement.
'Once again, the Trump administration is sending a clear message that they do not care about women's lives, and they don't care how many pregnant women they force into health care crises so long as they can continue to advance their extreme anti-abortion agenda.'
There have been many reports of pregnant women across the country — in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and elsewhere— who were denied emergency abortion care because they weren't close enough to death. The decision to revoke these guidelines will create further confusion for emergency care providers who are simply trying to do their jobs.
The Supreme Court rejected an attack on emergency abortion care in Idaho last summer, but pro-choice groups cautioned against calling it a win. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the decision was 'not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho' but instead 'it is delay.'
'Complying with this law can mean the difference between life and death for pregnant people, forcing providers like me to choose between caring for someone in their time of need and turning my back on them to comply with cruel and dangerous laws,' Dr. Jamila Perritt, OB-GYN, abortion provider and president of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement.
'As a doctor, I have a moral and ethical obligation to provide emergency care to those in need, including EMTALA's mandate to provide abortion care when it is necessary and stabilizing treatment,' Perritt added. 'This action does not change that.'
Biden Administration Clarifies Protections For Doctors Making Emergency Abortion Decisions
Conservative SCOTUS Justices Somehow Ignore Pregnant Patients In Heated Abortion Arguments
Supreme Court Allows Emergency Abortion Care In Idaho For Now
Opinion: I'm An Emergency Physician. Here's How Dangerous This Supreme Court Abortion Ruling Could Be.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
25 minutes ago
- UPI
NATO leaders propose 5% defense investment by member states
June 5 (UPI) -- NATO defense ministers are proposing a 5% annual investment in defense spending by member nations to enhance defensive capabilities during a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The proposed defense investment plan would require member nations to invest 5% of their respective gross domestic products in defense, NATO officials announced. The change would make NATO a "stronger, fairer, more lethal alliance and ensure warfighting readiness for years to come," according to NATO. The ministers' plan describes "exactly what capabilities allies need to invest over their coming years ... to keep our deterrence and defense strong and our one billion people safe," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. U.S. supports increased NATO member spending Many NATO members currently spend about 2% of their respective GDPs, which President Donald Trump has said is insufficient. The 5% defense investment by NATO member states is virtually assured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told media upon arriving for Thursday's meeting. "We're here to continue the work that President Trump started, which is a commitment to 5% defense spending across this alliance, which we think will happen," Hegseth said. "There are a few countries that are not quite there yet," Hegseth added. "I won't name any names, [but] we will get them there." If approved during the upcoming NATO Summit, defense investments would require respective member nations to spend equal to 3.5% of GDP on core defense spending, plus 1.5% in annual defense and security investments, including infrastructure. The two-day NATO Summit is scheduled to start on June 24 at The Hague. Ukraine support and nuclear deterrence An ad hoc NATO-Ukraine Council also met and reaffirmed NATO's support of Ukraine and agreed that nuclear deterrence is its primary goal. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and European Union Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Minister Kaja Kallas joined the council to discuss support for Ukraine. Rutte said NATO allies have pledged nearly $23 billion in security assistance for Ukraine in 2025 and are focused on preventing the use of nuclear weapons by Russia and other nations. The final meeting of NATO ministers during the summit also affirmed the alliance's focus on nuclear deterrence. "Nuclear deterrence remains the cornerstone of alliance security," Rutte said. "We will ensure that NATO's nuclear capability remains strong and effective in order to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression." Trump nominates U.S. general for NATO commander Trump also nominated U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich to lead combined U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. If approved during the NATO Summit, Grynkewich would become NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of the U.S. European Command. Trump is scheduled to attend the NATO Summit. If approved by NATO member states, Grynkewich would replace current Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Chris Cavoli. Grynkewich is an experienced fighter pilot, and his nomination affirms that the United States would continue to emphasize defensive security for Europe. A U.S. officer has been NATO's supreme allied commander since Gen. Dwight Eisenhower first held the post in 1951.
Chicago Tribune
26 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Donald Trump and Elon Musk's relationship flames out
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and Elon Musk's alliance took off like one of SpaceX's rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up. The spectacular flameout Thursday hit a crescendo when Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts and Musk said without providing evidence that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them. The messy blow-up between the president of the United States and the world's richest man played out on their respective social media platforms after Trump was asked during a White House meeting with Germany's new leader about Musk's criticism of his spending bill. It came less than a week after they appeared together at the White House for a subdued goodbye and Trump thanked Musk for his brief time in the U.S. government by handing him a symbolic but nonfunctional golden key. Trump had largely remained silent as Musk stewed over the last few days on his social media platform X, condemning the president's so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill.' But Trump clapped back Thursday in the Oval Office, saying he was 'very disappointed in Musk.' Musk responded on social media in real time. Trump, who was supposed to be spending Thursday discussing an end to the Russia-Ukraine war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, ratcheted up the stakes when he turned to his own social media network, Truth Social, and threatened to use the U.S. government to hurt Musk's bottom line by going after contracts held by his internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on his social media network. 'This just gets better and better,' Musk quickly replied on X. 'Go ahead, make my day.' Musk then said, without offering evidence of how he might know the information, that Trump was 'in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' The insinuation tapped into long-standing suspicions among conspiracy theorists and online sleuths that incriminating and sensitive files in the government's possession have yet to be released. The deepening rift unfurled much like their relationship started — rapidly, intensely and very publicly. It also quickly hit Musk financially, even before Trump's threat. After Trump started speaking about Musk, shares of his electric vehicle company Tesla fell over 10%, their latest notable move since the election. The shares doubled in the weeks after Trump was elected, gave back those gains and more during Musk's time at DOGE and then rallied after he vowed in April to focus much more on Tesla and his other companies. Politicians and their donor patrons rarely see eye to eye. But the magnitude of Musk's support for Trump, spending at least $250 million backing his campaign, and the scope of free rein the president gave him to slash and delve into the government with the Department of Government Efficiency is eclipsed only by the speed of their falling-out. Musk offered up an especially stinging insult to a president sensitive about his standing among voters: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' Musk retorted. 'Such ingratitude,' Musk said in a follow-up post. Musk announced his support for Trump shortly after the then-candidate was nearly assassinated on stage at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally last July. News of Musk's political action committee in support of Trump's election came days later. Musk soon became a close adviser and frequent companion, memorably leaping in the air behind Trump on stage at a rally in October. Once Trump was elected, the tech billionaire stood behind him as he took the oath of office, flew with him on Air Force One for weekend stays at Mar-a-Lago, slept in the White House's Lincoln Bedroom and joined his Cabinet meetings wearing a MAGA hat (sometimes more than one). Three months ago, Trump purchased a red Tesla from Musk on the White House driveway as a public show of support for his business as it faced blowback. Musk bid farewell to Trump last week in a somewhat somber news conference in the Oval Office, where he sported a black eye that he said came from his young son but that seemed to be a metaphor for his messy time in government service. Trump, who rarely misses an opportunity to zing his critics on appearance, brought it up Thursday. 'I said, 'Do you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup.' Which is interesting,' Trump said. The Republican president's comments came as Musk has griped for days on social media about Trump's spending bill, warning that it will increase the federal deficit. Musk has called the bill a 'disgusting abomination.' 'He hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that will be next,' Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office, presaging his future. 'But I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot.' Trump later said on social media that 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave.' Musk's government employment status, however, limited him from continuing to work. 'He just went CRAZY!' Trump said. Observers had long wondered if the friendship between the two brash billionaires known for lobbing insults online would flame out in spectacular fashion. It did, in less than a year. Trump said Thursday that he and Musk had had a great relationship but mused: 'I don't know if we will anymore.' He said some people who leave his administration 'miss it so badly' and 'actually become hostile.' 'It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it,' he said. He brushed aside the billionaire's efforts to get him elected last year, including a $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in Pennsylvania. The surge of cash Musk showed he was willing to spend seemed to set him up as a highly coveted ally for Republicans going forward, but his split with Trump, the party's leader, raises questions about whether they or any others will see such a campaign windfall in the future. Trump said Musk 'only developed a problem' with the bill because it rolls back tax credits for electric vehicles. 'False,' Musk fired back on his social media platform as the president continued speaking. 'This bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' In another post, he said Trump could keep the spending cuts but 'ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.' Besides Musk being 'disturbed' by the electric vehicle tax credits, Trump said another point of contention was Musk's promotion of Jared Isaacman to run NASA. Trump withdrew Isaacman's nomination over the weekend, days after Musk left his government role. 'I didn't think it was appropriate,' Trump said Thursday, calling Isaacman 'totally a Democrat.' Musk continued slinging his responses on social media. He shared some posts Trump made over a decade ago criticizing Republicans for their spending, musings made when he, too, was just a billionaire lobbing his thoughts on social media. 'Where is the man who wrote these words?' Musk wrote. 'Was he replaced by a body double!?'
Buzz Feed
29 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Elon Musk Tweets That Trump Is In Epstein Files
THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING — and by the girls, I mean President Donald Trump and his former advisor, Elon Musk. To catch you up, Musk has been on a tirade against Trump's championed "One Big, Beautiful Bill..." Trump is referring to the bill's call to eliminate tax credits for electric vehicles — an industry in which Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla, is heavily involved. Well, Musk shot back with a series of tweets where he refers to Trump's words as a show of "ingratitude," saying, "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate." And it didn't end there! With the apparent ball in Trump's court, he took to Truth Social and threatened to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts." Which lead to this moment: Yes, Elon Musk claimed that Trump "is in the Epstein files," and "that is the real reason they have not been made public." The "Epstein files" are, of course, a reference to the US government's documentation on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has previously denied connections to Epstein. Last year, he wrote on Truth Social: "I was never on Epstein's Plane, or at his 'stupid' Island. Strong Laws ought to be developed against A.I. It will be a big and very dangerous problem in the future." BuzzFeed reached out to the White House for comment. We'll update you if we hear back. Well! That catches you up to this afternoon. Who knows what tonight will entail.
