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US Supreme Court Decisions and Threats to EMTALA


US Supreme Court Decisions and Threats to EMTALA

The Supreme Court has wrapped up its annual term, but sadly threats to pregnant individuals' reproductive health, safety, and basic rights remain. The aftermath of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v Wade, unleashed a wave of legal uncertainty that threatens the health of pregnant persons. Tragic consequences have ensued: patients airlifted out of state for medical care because their home state physicians feel helpless under threat of criminal liability and loss of license to practice, individuals hemorrhaging in hospital parking lots after being turned away by emergency departments, pregnant persons forced to carry nonviable or deceased fetuses because physicians feel the law is too vague or has tied their hands, individuals facing pregnancy in middle school after rape and incest. On this last point, at least 12 states with abortion bans do not include an exception for rape or incest -- exceptions that were once a rare source of political agreement. Even where these exceptions exist, the law may require that the rape or incest be reported to law enforcement, despite the fact that survivors are often afraid to report sexual violence. These new realities make clear that reproductive health care and rights are under continual attack in the US.

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