New judicial setback for the Biden Administration: it cannot force Texas emergency doctors to perform abortions
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sides with Christian medical associations and the Lone Star State against a federal law.
![Manifestantes reclaman la prohibición del aborto.](https://imagenes.voz.us/files/image_large/uploads/2024/06/17/667064eb30757.jpeg)
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The federal administration cannot by law force Texas emergency room doctors to perform abortions . And it is not the first time that Joe Biden's Executive has heard this sentence. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the previous ruling of a lower court that indicated that the Medical Treatment and Emergency Labor Law could not be used (EMTALA) to force doctors to perform abortions at the mother's will in emergency rooms.
The federal law was taken to court by the State of Texas along with Christian medical organizations, the Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations . The Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that "EMTALA does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, much less abortion" and, above all, " does not grant an unconditional right to the pregnant mother to abort her child ."
EMTALA does not force doctors to perform abortions
In its decision in State of Texas v. Becerra , Secretary of Health and Human Services, the court held that EMTALA does not require emergency room doctors to perform abortions. However, he notes that EMTALA prevents hospitals from refusing to treat patients who cannot pay for emergency services, and requires hospitals to stabilize both pregnant women and unborn children in emergency cases.
"Doctors should not be forced to break the Hippocratic Oath"
The vice president of Strategic Initiatives of the Alliance Defending Freedom organization, Ryan Bangert, who represented medical associations before the judges, celebrated the ruling, pointing out that "doctors should not be forced to break the hippocratic oath, and they should not have to choose between violating their deeply held beliefs or facing steep financial penalties and being excluded from the Medicare program.”