Trump Administration Rescinds Biden-Era Abortion Mandate in Emergency Rooms

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration has officially rescinded a controversial 2022 directive from the Biden administration that threatened to force emergency room physicians in pro-life states to perform abortions against their medical judgment and in defiance of state laws.

The reversal was announced Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which declared that it would “rectify any perceived legal confusion and instability” caused by the Biden-era guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

“CMS will continue to enforce EMTALA, which protects all individuals who present to a hospital emergency department seeking examination or treatment,” the agency stated, emphasizing that this includes “emergency medical conditions that place the health of a pregnant woman or her unborn child in serious jeopardy.”

The original 2022 guidance, issued weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, was authored by then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. It asserted that EMTALA superseded state abortion bans, effectively pressuring hospital staff to perform abortions or risk losing Medicare funding — a move critics slammed as an unconstitutional federal overreach.

“Led by Dr. Oz, the Trump administration has delivered another win for life and truth — stopping Biden’s attack on emergency care for both pregnant moms and their unborn children,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America.

Dr. Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, welcomed the rescission, calling the Biden policy “never medically necessary.” She added, “Every state pro-life law already permitted physicians to intervene in a pregnancy emergency to protect a woman’s life. I have always been able to provide quality care in obstetric emergencies, seeking to preserve the lives of both mother and child.”

The Biden administration’s guidance sparked a wave of legal battles. The Department of Justice sued Idaho, claiming the state’s abortion law conflicted with EMTALA. But that case was quietly dropped by Trump’s DOJ in March, with both sides agreeing to a stipulation of dismissal.

The legal tide turned even further in October 2024, when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s request to overturn a lower court decision that blocked the abortion mandate in Texas emergency rooms.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) praised the move to undo the Biden directive. “EMTALA is a decades-old statute that was originally designed to protect mother-patients and their unborn children in emergency situations,” she said. “The Biden administration manipulated the law’s purpose by issuing guidance that forced emergency room doctors to perform abortions, regardless of their states’ life-affirming laws.”

“Restoring EMTALA to its original purpose brings much-needed clarity to our incredible emergency room doctors across the country and peace of mind to the patients they serve,” Hyde-Smith added.

With the guidance now formally rescinded, pro-life advocates view the move as another victory in restoring states’ rights and reaffirming protections for both mothers and their unborn children in emergency medical situations.

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