Washington state will update its laws to ensure hospitals provide emergency abortions, ahead of a Supreme Court decision on abortion restrictions.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday that the state would amend its law to explicitly require hospitals to provide emergency abortions when necessary to stabilize patients. This move comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule later this month on whether conservative states can restrict abortions during certain medical emergencies.
While there have been no known cases of patients being denied emergency abortions in Washington, Inslee stated that he wanted to eliminate any ambiguity surrounding hospitals’ responsibilities in providing such care. “This is a preventative against the Supreme Court decision,” the governor said. “If your health is going to be damaged in any way as a result of not getting emergency services, you ought to have that right to get those emergency services.”
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, many Republican-controlled states have passed laws severely restricting abortion access, with some banning abortion entirely except in limited circumstances. Idaho, for example, bans abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk, with doctors facing felony charges for violating the law. The Biden administration has challenged Idaho’s law, arguing that federal law mandates hospitals accepting Medicare to provide emergency abortions when necessary to preserve the health of a patient.
The Supreme Court has allowed Idaho’s ban to remain in effect while it reviews the case, with a ruling expected soon. In contrast, most Democratic-controlled states, like Washington, have taken steps to safeguard abortion access. Washington, in particular, has made efforts to ensure reproductive care is available, including stockpiling abortion medication and providing funding for clinics.
Abortion rights advocates have raised concerns that abortion bans are already having a detrimental impact on the care provided to pregnant women in emergency situations. Some women are now forced to travel out of state to receive the necessary care, as doctors in restrictive states must wait until a patient’s condition becomes life-threatening to perform an abortion under the law.
