Joan Feldman Quoted in Law360 Article Entitled "Skepticism of Agency Power Key to 5th Circ. Abortion Ruling"

A recent Fifth Circuit decision that Texas doctors are not required to provide abortions under a federal medical emergency care law is part of a broader trend of increased judicial skepticism of agency authority, as well as deference to states to decide reproductive rights in the post-Dobbs era, experts said.

At issue is the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires that hospitals receiving Medicare funds provide screenings and stabilizing medical care, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.

On Jan. 2, the court rejected guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services intended to shore up patient access to abortion care in emergency rooms. In an attempt by the Biden administration to safeguard abortion care following the U.S. Supreme Court's rollback of the right to an abortion, the HHS guidance said that state laws prohibiting abortion are trumped by physicians' obligations under federal law to provide that care.

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Published by Law360, excerpted by permission.