US Senators Introduce Resolution for Emergency Health Care Access Including Abortion
TL/DR –
U.S. Senator Tina Smith and her colleagues have introduced a resolution to ensure every patient has the right to emergency health care, including abortion, regardless of location. The move follows reports of preventable deaths due to Republican abortion bans creating confusion about the treatment doctors can provide, even when a pregnant patient’s life is at risk. The resolution was led by Democratic senators and aims to clarify that pregnant patients should have access to life-saving emergency care in every state, as lawsuits and litigation continue to threaten this access.
US Senator Proposes Resolution for Universal Access to Emergency Health Care, Including Abortion
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and colleagues recently proposed a resolution for universal access to emergency health care, including abortion. This plan emerged following ProPublica’s report highlighting how Republican-enforced abortion bans impede women’s access to urgent, life-saving health care.
Impact of Abortion Restrictions Post-Roe v. Wade Overturn
Following Roe v. Wade‘s overturn two years ago, around 24 US states, predominantly Republican-led, have imposed stringent limits on abortion access. Doctors now face uncertainty about the treatment they can legally provide to endangered pregnant patients, with fears of losing their licenses or facing legal repercussions for providing critical emergency care. As a result, despite the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act’s (EMTALA) mandate for Medicare-participating hospitals to help such patients, women are increasingly being denied emergency care.
“Abortion is Health Care”
Senator Tina Smith voiced her concern, stating, “Patients will suffer while lawsuits continue. Where medicine is clear: Abortion is health care, there should be no legal question. Pregnant women deserve access to emergency medical care, and doctors should be allowed to provide that care without interference from right-wing, anti-choice politicians.”
Uncertainty Persists Despite Supreme Court’s Chance to Clarify
In the case of Moyle v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court could have reaffirmed federal law’s requirement for pregnant women’s access to emergency health care. Instead, the case was dismissed and returned to lower courts, leaving women’s health and lives at risk due to uncertainty around emergency abortion care.
Wide Support for the Resolution
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) spearheaded the resolution, with co-sponsorship from a broad range of their colleagues, including Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and many others.
Full Text of the Resolution Accessible Online
The complete text of this groundbreaking resolution can be found here.
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