The Supreme Court hears yet another abortion case on Wednesday. This one tests whether a state can prevent a pregnant woman from receiving what her doctors say is essential medical treatment, including the termination of a pregnancy, if her health, but not her life, is in grave danger.
In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA. The law provides that hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid payments from the federal government — and that is most hospitals — must provide stabilizing care for any patient whose life or health is in serious jeopardy. If the hospital can't provide the care, it is required to provide safe transport to another hospital that can.
