BY CARRIE N. BAKER | In a Washington Post opinion editorial on June 30, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights Nancy Northup called on the Biden administration to declare a public health emergency for abortion in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Northup argued that a public health emergency declaration would allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help patients obtain abortion care, as well as enable out-of-state prescribing and dispensing of medication abortion in states banning abortion.
On July 8, the Biden administration issued an executive order to expand access to abortion healthcare, which Texas immediately challenged in court—but the president has not yet declared a public health emergency.
The Network for Public Health Law has issued a report laying out the U.S. government’s powers to address public health emergencies under several federal laws, including the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the PREP Act), which provides federal preemption of state laws and immunity from lawsuits for those acting to address a declared public health emergency.
Ms. spoke with leading reproductive health law scholar and Temple law professor Rachel Rebouché about the strengths and limitations of a public health emergency declaration for increasing access to abortion healthcare.
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