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For Immediate Release: June 3, 2025
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Pro-Life Laws Protect Pregnant Women in Medical Emergency

 Washington, D.C. – The Trump administration has officially rescinded Biden guidance that twisted federal law to force ER doctors to perform abortions and spread misinformation about pregnant women’s ability to receive emergency care in states with pro-life laws. The guidance was the subject of a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s Defense of Life Act that had reached the Supreme Court last year, which Attorney General Pam Bondi dropped in March.

EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, was enacted in the 1980s in response to ERs refusing to treat patients who could not pay. There is no mention of abortion in EMTALA. The requirement to provide stabilizing care for both a pregnant woman and her “unborn child” is mentioned more than once.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, celebrated the victory:

“Led by Dr. Oz, the Trump administration has delivered another win for life and truth – stopping Biden’s attack on emergency care for both pregnant moms and their unborn children. It is a clear fact that pregnant women are protected under pro-life laws. Women can receive care for a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and any medical emergency in all 50 states. Democrats have created confusion on this fact to justify their extremely unpopular agenda for all-trimester abortion. In situations where every minute counts, their lies lead to delayed care and put women in needless, unacceptable danger.

“We call on more states to follow the Trump administration’s lead and pass Med Ed laws to protect women from abortion lobby misinformation. South Dakota, North Dakota and Texas have all passed laws to educate medical and legal professionals on ‘life of the mother’ provisions and doctors’ unhindered ability to treat pregnant women based on their reasonable medical judgment.”

Ingrid Skop, M.D., FACOG, vice president and director of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute and a practicing ob-gyn in Texas, added:

“As a board-certified ob-gyn for over 30 years, the administration’s change in stance is welcome news for both of my patients—a pregnant woman and her unborn child—whose lives are both prioritized by EMTALA. This coercive effort by the prior administration to subvert existing laws to promote abortion was never necessary, as EMTALA has never been confusing for me or my obstetric peers. Every state pro-life law already permitted physicians to intervene immediately in a pregnancy emergency to protect a woman’s life. Although I do not perform elective abortions, I have always been able to provide quality care in obstetric emergencies, seeking to preserve the lives of both mother and child.”

Skop is a co-author of an in-depth analysis of life-of-the-mother protections in each state. Nearly half the states have pro-life laws protecting life at 12 weeks or sooner. Each law allows women to receive care in the event of a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or other medical emergency.

 

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is a network of more than one million pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.

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