Two Texas Women File EMTALA Complaints with HHS Over Denial of Emergency Abortion Care
Two complaints have been filed with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alleging regulatory noncompliance at two Texas hospitals. The complainants allege the hospitals violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) by failing to provide emergency abortion care to two pregnant women when they presented to the hospital’s emergency departments with a life-threatening condition.
EMTALA is a federal law that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care to patients with emergency medical conditions, regardless of their ability to pay. Patients who present to a hospital emergency department must undergo an appropriate medical screening examination by a physician or qualified medical person to determine whether they have an emergency medical condition, and if they do, stabilizing care must be provided. The patient cannot be refused that care unless providing that care is beyond the capabilities of the facility, in which case, an appropriate transfer is permitted to a facility that has adequate capabilities. EMTALA does not specifically mention abortion care, but in certain circumstances, emergency abortion is the standard treatment, and that care is permitted under EMTALA.
The complaints were filed by Kyleigh Thurman and Kelsie Norris-De-la-Cruz, who sought emergency treatment at two Texas hospitals for ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilized egg implants in a fallopian tube rather than the wall of the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are always fatal for the fetus and can be life-threatening for the mother. Ectopic pregnancy is the most common cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester.
According to the two complaints, the hospitals declined to provide treatment and as a result of the delay in being provided care, both women lost one of their fallopian tubes which will make it much harder for the women to conceive in the future. The Center for Reproductive Rights assisted both women with filing the complaints and is calling for the Biden Administration to investigate hospitals over the denial of emergency care. The Center for Reproductive Rights argues that as a federal law, EMTALA applies in all states regardless of whether they have implemented abortion bans, and while some states – including Texas – have implemented exceptions for ectopic pregnancies, doctors are fearful of providing abortion care.
“Although abortion is banned in Texas, providing an abortion in cases of ectopic pregnancies is explicitly allowed under state law. Still, the extreme threats of prosecution and penalties in a state that has relentlessly targeted abortion providers have left doctors afraid to provide any abortion care,” explained the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Under the state’s abortion bans, doctors face up to 99 years in prison, loss of medical license, and at least $100,000 in fines for providing care.”
The complainants are calling for the HHS to enforce EMTALA and hold the hospitals accountable, which will help to reassure doctors that emergency abortion care can be provided in the state for ectopic pregnancies without fear of punishment.
