Congresswoman: “Today’s Ruling Still Invites Attacks Against a Woman’s Ability to Receive Emergency Medical Care”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to allow emergency abortion care under federal law — for the time being.

“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and undermined a woman’s right to privacy and reproductive healthcare, 21 states have passed additional restrictions on abortion — and six of those states have banned abortion, even when the mother’s life or fertility are at risk.

“Unfortunately, today’s ruling still invites attacks against a woman’s ability to receive emergency medical care. This ruling keeps medical providers in the dark about whether they must wait until their patients are on the verge of death to provide lifesaving care — or face felony charges.

“In the two years since the Dobbs decision, women in Virginia and across America have feared additional attacks on their fundamental rights. This blatant questioning of physicians who perform emergency abortion care only validates these fears. In Congress, I will not stop working to protect reproductive care until the right to abortion is codified under federal law — because extreme, anti-abortion politicians and judges should not dictate these personal healthcare decisions.”

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In March 2024, following a federal district court judge’s ruling that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide abortion as an emergency medical treatment, Spanberger joined 257 Members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States, two consolidated cases concerning EMTALA. Spanberger and her colleagues urged the Supreme Court to affirm the district court’s ruling.

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