Biden administration: Doctors must offer abortion if mom's life is at risk

Abortion-rights demonstrators shout slogans after tying green flags to the fence in front of the White House during a protest to pressure the Biden administration to act and protect abortion rights on Saturday.

Jose Luis Magana / Jose Luis Magana

The Biden administration on Monday told hospitals that they “must” provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, saying federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions that now ban the procedure without any exceptions following the Supreme Court’s decision to end a constitutional right to abortion.

The Department of Health and Human Services cited requirements on medical facilities in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA.

The law requires medical facilities to determine whether a person seeking treatment may be in labor or whether they face an emergency health situation — or one that could develop into an emergency — and to provide treatment.