How at risk must a pregnant woman be before she's allowed to get an abortion? That's the issue underlying a case before the U.S. Supreme Court today, though the central question before the court is whether a 1986 federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) preempts state abortion bans like one passed in Idaho in 2020.
The federal government says that under the EMTALA, hospitals have a duty to provide abortions to patients whose health is threatened, even in states where abortion bans only leave exceptions for life-threatening emergencies.
