The lives of thousands of pregnant patients could be at risk if the Supreme Court decides that near-total bans on abortion are consistent with a federal law that requires medical professionals to provide immediate care to anyone suffering a life-threatening condition.
At a press conference Wednesday, doctors warned of dire consequences if the court decides that state-level prohibitions on abortion are consistent with the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act, or EMTALA, which Congress passed into law in 1986. Until now, the law has required any hospital with an emergency room to provide live-saving assistance, no questions asked, including an abortion.
