Pro-Life Protections Upheld in Texas and Georgia - Here's What Happened

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down the Biden administration's appeal to require emergency room abortions in Texas. 

The high court has let stand a decision that would keep Texas hospitals from committing abortions as part of emergency stabilizing treatment and ruled that federal regulations cannot be used to overrule the state's pro-life laws. 

As CBN News has reported, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergencies under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This healthcare law requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.

Texas sued over the guidance arguing that its hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate the state's abortion law. 

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority. 

The Biden administration appealed the ruling arguing that hospitals have to perform abortions in emergency situations under federal law. They pointed to the Supreme Court's action in a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues. 

Texas argued that its law – which forbids abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected – makes exceptions to save the woman's life adding there's no conflict between federal and state law. 

The Supreme Court allowed the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to stand. The high court did not detail its reasoning for keeping the lower court's order in place. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision "a major victory."

"This is a major victory at SCOTUS that will protect Texas medical providers from being forced to violate State law," he wrote. "No Texas doctor should be forced to violate his or her conscience or the law just to do their job. We successfully sued and stopped the Biden-Harris Administration's backdoor attempt to overrule State abortion laws." 

Pro-life advocates have applauded the ruling.

"The Supreme Court delivered a big win for mothers and babies nationwide, and a blow to the Biden-Harris agenda to force doctors to perform abortions," said SBA Pro-Life America State Policy Director Katie Glenn Daniel. "The truth is clear: No state with strong pro-life laws prevents doctors from providing emergency care for expectant moms."

"Contrary to pro-abortion lies, doctors never need to wait until a woman is in imminent danger of dying before they can act to save her – and in many cases, Texas doctors have continued to do so the entire time," she added. "The Court confirmed today that there is no conflict between pro-life state laws like Texas' and federal law which requires care and consideration of both patients, mom and baby. This ought to put an end to the harmful misinformation this Democratic administration has spent over two years spreading with shameful disregard for the women's lives they endanger."

Abortion Court Battle in Georgia Ongoing

Meanwhile, pro-life advocates are also praising a ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court on Monday. The court reinstated the state's law protecting preborn children while it considers an appeal of a lower court ruling, which had overturned the law.

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Governor Brian Kemp signed the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, which protects babies from abortion after a detectable heartbeat.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled on Sept. 30 that privacy rights under Georgia's state constitution include a right to abortion and therefore the LIFE Act unconstitutionally prohibits abortions. With the ruling, abortions up to 22 weeks gestation were allowed to resume.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr appealed McBurney's decision and filed an emergency motion requesting the Supreme Court justices reinstate the protections while considering the case. 

"There is nothing legally private about ending the life of an unborn child," Carr said in a court filing. 

Pro-life advocates are praising the Georgia Supreme Court's decision to halt Burney's ruling while considering the case. 

"There's no right to privacy in the abortion process because there's another individual involved," said Clare Bartlett, executive director of the Georgia Life Alliance adding, "It goes back to protecting those who are the most vulnerable and can't speak for themselves."
 

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