Biden reiterates to hospitals: Abortion might be needed to protect patients in emergencies

After Roe, HHS notes the federal law protecting pregnant patients' health.

The Biden administration announced Monday that it is telling hospitals it will aggressively enforce a federal law that calls on doctors to stabilize patients in need of emergency medical treatment -- including by providing an abortion if the doctor thinks ending a pregnancy is needed to protect the person's health.

Officials say they believe the standard under federal law goes further than anti-abortion statues in states that allow abortions only to protect a woman's life. The move is the latest effort by President Joe Biden to try to blunt the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling last month overturning the guarantee to access abortion, which drew widespread conservative praise.

The new guidance to hospitals was included as part of an executive order signed by Biden last week.

While the effort doesn't include any new protections or laws -- and it doesn't expand access to abortion care in states that restrict it -- administration officials say they believe the step is necessary to make clear to hospitals and doctors that they can still provide abortions if it protects the pregnant patient.

Following the enactment of several state laws severely restricting abortion except to save the life of the mother, medical experts warned the laws were too vague and that it wasn't clear what qualified as a life being in danger, what the risk of death was and how imminent death had to be before a health care provider could act.