EMTALA

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals with emergency departments to provide a medical screening examination to any individual who comes to the emergency department and requests such an examination, and prohibits hospitals with emergency departments from refusing to examine or treat individuals with an emergency medical condition.

An Open Letter to Rep. Kat Cammack From a Medical Doctor: It’s Abortion Bans That Make Doctors Afraid to Act, Not ‘the Radical Left’

No woman may escape the cruelty of the nebulous and varying restrictions on reproductive healthcare in the post-Roe world—as Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) discovered in May 2024 when faced with a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy shortly after Florida’s six-week abortion ban took effect. Concerned by the lack of clarity in the wording of the law on the limits of intervention in pregnant patients, doctors reportedly delayed administering intramuscular methotrexate to terminate the pregnancy, out of fear of prosecution.

I’m a doctor. In this chaotic landscape, where reproductive healthcare policy and medical reality appear woefully divorced, my colleagues and I don’t know what misstep could land us in senseless litigation or with felony charges.

Rep. Cammack, your voice and your story have power. I hope you use them to reintroduce nuance and common sense to the discussion on women’s lives. There are many of us who will extend a hand across the aisle and work together with you to right some of the senseless wrongs. 

Five Ways the GOP Is Quietly Paving the Road to a National Abortion Ban

and

The vast majority of Americans support abortion and reproductive freedom, yet state lawmakers continue to introduce and pass laws stripping citizens of these rights. Providers face confusing, punitive rules that might lead them to delay or deny care. Planned Parenthood and other providers face budget cuts that threaten to restrict healthcare access for millions of Americans.

These are not isolated outcomes. Rather, they reveal a coordinated national strategy. Here are five myths we believe need to be dispelled to counter the challenges that lie ahead.

War on Women Report: MAGA Republicans Hope to Turn Miscarriage Into a Crime and Gut Planned Parenthood

and

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—On June 14, between 4 and 13 million people attended No Kings rallies nationwide to protest President Trump’s immigration and economic policies.
—Four states—California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey—have petitioned the FDA to undo restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.
—Some good news out of Montana: This month, the state supreme court struck down three abortion restrictions that Republican lawmakers passed in 2021.

… and more.

Keeping Score: Americans Oppose Mass Deportations; Supreme Court Upholds Free Preventive Care Under ACA

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week:
—marking three years since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade
—”Deep cracks are showing in the Trump and Miller mass deportation agenda,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice.
—Rest in power, Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were assassinated in an act of political violence. “Political violence of any kind has no place in our democracy,” said Democratic Women’s Caucus chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.).
—The Supreme Court upheld bans on gender-affirming care for minors.
—Harvey Weinstein was again convicted of a criminal sex act.
—raising awareness for LGBTQ Equal Pay Day
—82% of Democrats and 68% of Republicans believe funding for childcare should increase. 

… and more.

‘This Will Delay Care’: N.C. Doctor Warns of Harm After Trump’s Rollback on Emergency Abortion Rule

Earlier this month, the Trump administration canceled a 2022 directive issued under the Biden administration that said hospitals had to provide abortion care if it was needed to save a patient’s life or prevent serious harm. The rule was based on a federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, known as EMTALA, which requires emergency rooms to treat and stabilize all patients regardless of their ability to pay.

While North Carolina law allows abortions in cases where a patient’s life or health is in danger, the previous federal guidance offered clearer protections. Without it, doctors may be less sure about what’s allowed, and hesitate to act quickly in emergencies.

What Comes After Roe? Fear, Surveillance and Felony Charges

A new survey reveals that a majority of likely voters oppose policies that grant legal rights to fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses. They also oppose the criminalization of pregnancy loss, denial of emergency medical care and broader threats to reproductive freedom.

Yet here we are, with bills to codify those rights brewing in a quarter of U.S. states this year.

Even when they do not succeed, we cannot simply ignore them or hope their proponents call it quits. Rather, this is a prime opportunity to double down on educating people and harnessing public opinion.

Keeping Score: Trump Administration Targets Immigrants and Emergency Abortion Care; Newsom Pushes Back

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week:
—California Governor Gavin Newsom stands up to President Trump over ICE raids: “California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next.”
—Trump threatens EMTALA.
—Israeli forces detained Greta Thunberg and 11 other activists while trying to deliver aid to Gaza.
—New research found unintended pregnancies correlate with gender inequality.
—Taylor Swift finally owns her entire music catalog.

… and more.

The War on Women Report: Women Jailed for Miscarriages, Dragged from Town Halls, and Denied Healthcare

and

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—At a town hall in Idaho, men from a private security firm grabbed Teresa Borrenpohl and forcibly dragged her from the room.
—Georgia relaunched a new maternal mortality committee, but will not reveal who the new members are.
—In a win for Montana, a district court permanently blocked multiple restrictions that would have effectively eliminated abortion access for most patients on Medicaid.

… and more.