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12-07-2022
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration said on Monday healthcare providers must offer abortion services if the life of a mother is at risk and that procedures conducted under such circumstances would be protected under federal law regardless of various state bans.
The guidance comes days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order easing access to services to terminate pregnancies after the US top court’s decision last month to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling.
The Department of Health & Human Services said on Monday physicians must provide that treatment if they believe a pregnant patient is experiencing an emergency medical condition as defined by Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) and if abortion is a “stabilizing treatment”.
EMTALA requires medical facilities determine whether a person seeking treatment may be in labor or whether they face an emergency health situation and also protects providers when offering legally mandated abortion services in such situations.
The department said in a statement emergency conditions include “ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features.”
The guidance does not reflect new policy, but merely reminds doctors and providers of their existing obligations under federal law, the health department said.
On Sunday, Biden said he had asked his administration to consider whether he has authority to declare an abortion-related public health emergency.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday declaring a public health emergency would not necessarily free up resources, citing the experience of heavy federal spending for the government’s response to COVID-19 and monkey pox.
“It also doesn’t release a significant amount of legal authority,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “And so that’s why we haven’t taken that action yet.”
Still, she added: “Everything is on the table.”
The White House has been under pressure from Biden’s own party to take action after the Supreme Court decision last month. Protecting abortion rights is a top issue for women Democrats, Reuters 
polling shows, and more than 70% of Americans think the issue should be left to a woman and her doctor.
In a separate letter to providers, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said EMTALA protects healthcare providers’ clinical judgment regardless of the restrictions in the state where they practice.
Becerra wrote a physician or other qualified medical personnel’s professional and legal duty to “provide stabilizing medical treatment, preempts any directly conflicting state law or mandate that might otherwise prohibit such treatment.”
Earlier, following America’s abortion laws being overturned by the US Supreme Court, Google announced in a statement that they will be deleting all location history and data when users visit medical facilities that offer abortion.
Although Google provides its users with the option to delete their data on their own, Google says if their systems find anyone has gone to abortion clinics, counselling centres, domestic violence shelters and other locations that can be deeply personal, it will automatically delete the location history from their system after the visit.
“We remain committed to protecting our users against improper government demands for data, and we will continue to oppose demands that are overly broad or otherwise legally objectionable”, said Google Senior Vice President Jen Fitzpatrick.
The recent controversy on social media also sparked confusion over apps that track menstrual cycles following America’s abortion ban, Neowin reported.
Many women believe that the data from such apps will be able to track their pregnancies and possible abortions, which can put them in possible controversy with the law. However, Google announced that users that normally track their menstrual cycles in Google Fit and Fitbit will be able to delete multiple menstruation logs at a time in an upcoming update.
“We’re committed to delivering robust privacy protections for people who use our products, and we will continue to look for new ways to strengthen and improve these protections,” Fitzpatrick said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
