White House Declares Abortions Must Be Provided In Medical Emergencies Regardless Of State Law

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has left many women all over the nation feeling helpless at the lack of control over their own bodily autonomy, but luckily, on Monday, July 11, some good news came out of the White House regarding abortion rights.

As CNBC reports, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote a letter to health care providers earlier today, declaring that physicians must provide abortions in cases of medical emergency under federal law, and will face penalties if they decline to offer the procedure.

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Becerra added that federal law pre-empts state abortion bans in cases where women are faced with medical emergencies linked to their pregnancy under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.

“If an abortion is necessary to treat a woman facing a medical emergency, physicians must offer the procedure,” he wrote, mentioning that penalities for any institutions that fail to imply could include fines or the termination of their Medicare provider agreements.