A Texas emergency room witnessed a heartbreaking incident when a woman suffered a miscarriage in the lobby restroom while staff at the front desk refused to admit her. Similarly, in Florida, another woman discovered at a hospital that her fetus had no heartbeat, the day after being turned away by a security guard. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a woman was forced to give birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound. Tragically, the baby later passed away.
According to federal documents obtained by The Associated Press, complaints surged in 2022 regarding pregnant women being denied entry to U.S. emergency rooms. This increase followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. These distressing cases underscore concerns about the quality of emergency pregnancy care in the U.S., particularly in states with strict abortion laws that have led to confusion among doctors regarding the care they can provide.
“It is shocking, it’s absolutely shocking,” remarked Dr. Amelia Huntsberger, an OB/GYN based in Oregon. “It is appalling that someone would show up to an emergency room and not receive care — this is inconceivable.” Despite federal mandates requiring the treatment of women in such situations, these incidents continue to occur.
According to federal law, emergency rooms are obligated to treat or stabilize patients who are in active labor and facilitate a medical transfer to another hospital if they lack the necessary staff or resources. Compliance with this law is mandatory for medical facilities that accept Medicare funding.
Additionally, the Biden administration has initiated legal action against Idaho over its abortion ban, even in cases of medical emergencies, arguing that it contradicts federal law.
Jennifer Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, emphasized the importance of ensuring access to necessary care, stating, “No woman should be denied the care she needs. All patients, including women who are experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies, should have access to emergency medical care required under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).”
In states with severe abortion restrictions, pregnant patients have become “radioactive” to emergency departments, according to Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University. “They are so scared of a pregnant patient, that the emergency medicine staff won’t even look. They just want these people gone,” Rosenbaum explained.
Consider the case of a woman who arrived at Falls Community Hospital in Marlin, Texas, in July 2022, at nine months pregnant and experiencing contractions, just a week after the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling. The doctor on duty refused to attend to her.
Hospital staff recounted to federal investigators during interviews that “The physician came to the triage desk and told the patient that we did not have obstetric services or capabilities.” Despite the nursing staff offering to conduct tests for the presence of amniotic fluid, the physician strongly advised the patient to drive to a hospital in Waco instead.
The AP obtained numerous investigations through a Freedom of Information Act request filed in February 2023, aiming to acquire all pregnancy-related EMTALA complaints from the previous year. After a year of waiting, the federal government agreed to release only a portion of the complaints and investigative documents from just 19 states. Patient, doctor, and medical staff names were redacted from these documents.
Federal investigators examined slightly over a dozen pregnancy-related complaints in those states in the months leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court’s significant abortion ruling in 2022. However, the number of complaints regarding emergency pregnancy care increased to more than two dozen in the months following the decision. The total number of complaints filed last year remains unknown, as the records request specifically focused on 2022 complaints, and this information is not publicly accessible otherwise. The documents did not provide details on the outcome of the patient who was turned away from Falls Community Hospital.
Relevant articles:
– Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom, apnews.com, 04/24/2024
– Emergency Abortion Care Is Before the Supreme Court—and Blue States Should Be Very Worried, Mother Jones, Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:02:26 GMT
– Abortion Back at SCOTUS: Can States Ban Emergency Abortion Care for Pregnant Patients?, KFF, Mon, 22 Apr 2024 12:00:31 GMT
– The fate of emergency abortion care rests with Supreme Court, The Washington Post, Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:00:00 GMT
– AP Top Health News at 11:13 a.m. EDT, Yahoo News UK, Wed, 24 Apr 2024 04:00:00 GMT
I find this very hard to believe, having worked in Emergency Medicine for the past 30+ years. EMTALA laws were the direct result of a pregnant woman denied care at a NYC Emergency Dept because she had the wrong (or no) insurance. This has nothing to do with Roe v Wade. ANY hospital or physician or other individual that denies care to any patient is in violation of EMTALA and should be charged, fined, with loss of license, certification, or standing, and/or imprisoned accordingly.