The US Supreme Court on Monday upheld a ruling allowing Texas to ban emergency abortions that would violate state laws, which are among the strictest in the country.
The justices did not detail the reasoning that led to upholding a lower court’s order, challenged by the Biden administration, that hospitals cannot be forced to perform terminations of pregnancies if they violate Texas law. No dissenting opinions were publicly expressed.
The decision comes a few weeks before a presidential election where abortion is expected to be an issue. The debate gained momentum following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling striking down the nation’s right to abortion.
The Biden administration maintains that under federal law, hospitals must perform abortions if necessary in cases where a pregnant patient’s health or life is seriously threatened, even in states where it is prohibited.
Complaints of pregnant women in medical distress being turned away by emergency services in Texas and elsewhere are on the rise. Hospitals fear that some care deemed standard could violate laws against abortion.
The White House tried to defend its decision by pointing out that in a similar case in Idaho earlier this year, the Supreme Court narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume pending a local ruling.
Texas, for its part, asked the judges to keep the order in force. The state argued that its case is different from Idaho’s because an exception for cases involving serious health risks to a pregnant patient is provided in Texas law. At the time the Idaho case began, the northwestern US state had an exception to protect a woman’s life, but not her health.
The Texas Supreme Court previously ruled that doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to legally perform an abortion.
Doctors, however, have warned that the Texas law is dangerously vague, and a medical board declined to list conditions allowing exceptions to the law.
Terminations of pregnancies have long been a treatment option for women with serious complications. They are, among other things, used as a means of prevention against sepsis and organ failure.
In Texas and other states where abortion is strictly prohibited, doctors and hospitals are uncertain about the legality of these terminations. Violating the law can result in prison time.
The Texas question began after the ruling was overturned Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022. This led to restrictions on abortion in many Republican states.
The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals must still perform abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patient in medical distress.
Texas sued over the guidelines, saying hospitals cannot be forced to perform abortions that would violate local law. The 5e U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that Washington had exceeded its authority.