Supreme Court declines to hear Biden appeal in Texas emergency room abortion dispute
The Supreme Court turned away a Biden administration appeal in a dispute over emergency room abortion care in Texas, leaving in place a lower court victory for the Republican-led state.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a Biden administration appeal in a dispute over emergency room abortion care in Texas, leaving in place a lower court victory for the Republican-led state.
The decision, months after the court wrestled with a similar case from Idaho without reaching a conclusive decision, constitutes a setback for the Biden administration.
The decision leaves intact a ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Texas on the question of whether a federal law concerning emergency room care in some cases trumps state abortion restrictions.
The bigger legal question remains unresolved at the national level.
The 1986 federal law, called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, requires that patients — including, the federal government says, pregnant women with serious complications — receive appropriate emergency room care. The law applies to hospitals that receive federal funding via the Medicare program.
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