Trump Rescinds Guidance on Emergency Abortion Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2025
CONTACT: Carina Pacheco, [email protected]
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rescinded guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a decades-old federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing care for all patients in emergencies, including for women and people who are pregnant. The rescinded guidance, issued after the 2022 Dobbs decision, was a clear statement to providers that EMTALA preempts state abortion bans and restrictions if abortion care is necessary stabilizing medical treatment. This rescission follows the Trump administration’s decision from March to drop a federal EMTALA lawsuit against Idaho, whose strict abortion ban conflicts with EMTALA’s requirements.
Julie Gonen, Chief Legal Officer at the National Abortion Federation (NAF), issued the following statement in response:
The Trump administration’s decision to rescind this guidance on EMTALA is downright dangerous. It is clear that anti-abortion policymakers are more concerned with achieving their political agenda than ensuring people have access to necessary, life-saving health care. In emergency situations, abortion care may be exactly that: necessary, life-saving health care.
Since Dobbs, Trump’s leave-it-to-the-states approach to abortion has caused confusion and fear for abortion providers and medical professionals, putting pregnant people at extreme—and unnecessary—risk. This latest action does not change the law, but it will lead to more confusion that could delay lifesaving care for patients.
NAF will continue to do everything within our power to ensure that abortion providers and medical professionals are able to provide quality, evidence-based abortion care that is rooted in science, not political interference.
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NAF remains committed to helping as many people as possible access high-quality and affordable abortion care. Anyone in any state can call the National Abortion Hotline at 1-800-772-9100 to understand their options and get the assistance they need, whether that’s help finding a provider, arranging travel to another state, or funding for their care.