Texas Women File Federal Complaint Against Hospitals for Delayed Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy

Two women have filed federal complaints against Texas hospitals, alleging they refused to terminate their ectopic pregnancies, which led to both women losing a fallopian tube, compromising their future fertility.

Abortion is prohibited in Texas, but terminating an ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus, is explicitly permitted under state law. An ectopic pregnancy is never a viable pregnancy and can be deadly for the pregnant patient if not treated quickly.

Both women in the complaints told how they nearly died after two different hospitals turned them away for fear they would violate the state’s anti-abortion law. In Texas, a doctor who performs a prohibited abortion could face life in prison, loss of medical license and at least $100,000 in fines.

“Thus, some physicians have been reluctant to provide medical intervention for a suspected or presumed ectopic pregnancy,” the complaints state. “They do this because they fear that if the diagnosis is incorrect, termination would be a prohibited abortion that could result in criminal and civil penalties.”

The two complaints were filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights with the US Department of Health and Human Services. They argue that the hospitals violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a nearly 40-year-old law that requires hospitals that receive federal funds to provide stabilization care, including abortions, to patients with emergency medical conditions or the transfer.

Hospitals must provide care regardless of patients’ insurance status, mental illness, or other underlying issues that a hospital might use to reject them.

Patients have had to file complaints with state health agencies for years, but the administration earlier this year streamlined the process so patients can file complaints directly with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Biden administration invoked EMTALA in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The administration said state laws or mandates that employ a more restrictive definition of an emergency medical condition are preempted by federal law.

That guidance has been challenged by red states, including Texas, which say the administration’s interpretation goes against their own laws prohibiting abortion.

Although Texas law explicitly allows doctors to terminate ectopic pregnancies, it does not require it, and doctors remain cautious when treating patients with pregnancy complications.

“It is impossible to have your patient’s best interests in mind when you are facing a life sentence,” Beth Brinkmann, senior director of U.S. litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement. “Texas authorities have placed doctors in an impossible situation. It is clear that these exceptions are a sham and that these laws are putting countless lives in danger.”

The U.S. Supreme Court declined earlier this year to say that Idaho’s abortion ban exceeds the EMTALA requirement, but a federal appeals court concluded that Texas hospitals cannot be forced to perform life-saving abortions.

The Biden administration has already appealed this decision to the Supreme Court. The court will likely make a decision on hearing arguments in the fall, allowing it to rule after the November election.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story