Biden Administration Rejects Complaint Over Denied Emergency Abortion Care

The complaint, filed by Jaci Statton who was denied treatment for a life-threatening pregnancy complication, alleged violation of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.

• Jaci Statton, a 25-year-old mother of three in Oklahoma, was denied emergency abortion care by multiple hospitals despite suffering from a nonviable, molar pregnancy, a condition that can result in developing tissue becoming cancerous and can put the patient at risk of hemorrhage and even death.
• Statton filed a complaint to the Biden administration, citing a possible violation of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires doctors to provide stabilizing, emergency care to patients.
• The Biden administration rejected Statton’s complaint, finding the Oklahoma hospital did nothing wrong.
• In 2022, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Biden issued a guidance to hospitals that, under EMTALA, they’re required to provide emergency abortion care—even if doing so is at odds with state laws.
• Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration has only publicly announced one case where it determined that hospitals had violated the law in denying an abortion.

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