The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently rescinded guidance that reaffirmed protections for emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This decision, effective May 29, 2025, indicates that CMS will not enforce EMTALA when hospitals fail to provide necessary emergency abortion care to stabilize a patient’s health.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California criticized the CMS decision. “Today’s decision will endanger lives and lead to emergency room deaths – full stop. Doctors must be empowered to save the lives of their patients, not hem and haw over political red lines when the clock is ticking. In California, we will always protect the right of physicians to do what’s best for their patients and for women to make the reproductive decisions that are best for their families,” he stated.
The ruling does not affect women in California, where doctors are legally empowered to prioritize patient safety. However, it may have a significant impact on hospitals and physicians in states with total abortion bans that lack exceptions for pregnant women’s health. These states include Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. In these regions, hospitals and physicians are prohibited from providing abortion as a stabilizing treatment unless the condition becomes life-threatening.
This development follows President Joe Biden’s administration issuing guidance after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. The guidance emphasized that a physician’s duty to provide stabilizing medical treatment supersedes conflicting state laws or mandates prohibiting such treatment.
In August 2022, the Biden administration sued Idaho over its near-total abortion ban, arguing it violated EMTALA. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2024 allowed Idaho hospitals to perform emergency services like abortions to save a pregnant woman’s life but did not clarify federal law protection in emergency settings. The Trump administration dismissed this lawsuit in March.
California has taken several steps to safeguard patients’ rights concerning reproductive health care within its borders and beyond. Governor Newsom has worked with the California Legislature to position California as a leader in reproductive freedom through initiatives like the 23-Governor Reproductive Freedom Alliance.
For those seeking information about abortion care or reproductive health care in California, resources are available at Abortion.CA.Gov.
