| Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
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From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists. |
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(Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images) |
By Carrie N. Baker | After the Supreme Court terminated the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance clarifying that hospitals must still follow the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This law requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide health-saving and lifesaving abortion care to patients experiencing medical crises, even when state law bans abortion. On Tuesday, June 3, the Trump administration rescinded this guidance.
“The Trump administration cannot simply erase four decades of law protecting patients’ lives with the stroke of a pen,” said Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project. “Regardless of where they live, pregnant patients have a right to emergency abortion care that will save their health or lives.”
Congress passed EMTALA in 1986, and both Democratic and Republican administrations have interpreted the law to require abortion care necessary to stabilize pregnant women experiencing a medical crisis.
“To be clear: This action doesn’t change hospitals’ legal obligations, but it does add to the fear, confusion and dangerous delays patients and providers have faced since the fall of Roe v. Wade,” said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center.
“For decades, EMTALA has protected the ability of all people, including those who are pregnant, to receive life and health saving, stabilizing care in emergency situations,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO for Democracy Forward. “The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw EMTALA guidance guaranteeing pregnant people medical care in emergency situations will sow confusion for providers and endanger the lives and health of pregnant people.”
Women’s health advocates condemned the Trump administration’s politicization of healthcare.
“Every American deserves the right to access the necessary care in emergency scenarios, including pregnant people, without political interference,” said Perryman. “Democracy Forward will continue to work with our partners to use all legal tools to defend Americans’ reproductive freedom, promote evidence-based and medically accurate information and care, and oppose efforts that place political ideology over patient care.”
(Click here to read more)
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Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week: |
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| Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts + Spotify.
In this emergency episode, we’re ringing the alarm bells: We just learned that in the state of Georgia, a woman named Adriana Smith, who passed away in February, and has been declared brain-dead, is being forcibly kept on a ventilator due to the state’s strict abortion ban, against her family’s wishes. Dr. Michele Goodwin breaks down Adriana Smith’s case, and the cases of other women who, like Smith, have been disrespected and desecrated in death thanks to abortion bans and pregnancy exclusion laws.
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today! |
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