Attorney General Rayfield joins the attorneys general of New Jersey, California, New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia in sending this letter.
Salem, Oregon – Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has joined 21 other attorneys general from throughout the country in urging hospitals to remember their legal commitment to offer emergency abortion care, even if federal guidelines change. The group of attorneys general wrote to the American Hospital Association highlighting that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to provide stabilizing care, including abortion, when it is medically necessary to deal with emergency situations in pregnant patients.
This group action comes after the Trump Administration decided to take back 2022 federal guidance that made it clear what hospitals had to do in case of an emergency abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which reversed Roe v. Wade. That change left a lot of hospitals and doctors in states with tight abortion restrictions unsure of what they had to do, raising concerns about care being delayed or even denied in life-threatening situations.
Attorney General Rayfield said that the Reproductive Health Equity Act (RHEA), which he helped create in 2017 when he was in the state legislature, already provides access to emergency reproductive care in Oregon. The law guarantees Oregonians’ right to reproductive health care regardless of factors such as their income, citizenship status, or insurance coverage. Rayfield, on the other hand, said that many Americans don’t have these rights. He highlighted how important it is to make sure that patients in every state can get the care they need without hesitation.
“When someone walks into an emergency room in Oregon in a medical crisis, they deserve care—not confusion, delay, or legal red tape,” said Attorney General Rayfield in a release.
“Here in Oregon, we have strong protections in place. But not every state does. It’s not lost on me that we’re sending this letter on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision—a ruling that shattered national protections for reproductive health care. This is about making sure no one is denied lifesaving treatment because of politics or geography.”
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The coalition’s letter made it clear that EMTALA, which Congress passed in 1986, is still the law of the land. Hospitals that take Medicare money must stabilize patients who are in an emergency situation. This means that they must conduct abortions if they are necessary to save the life or health of the pregnant patient. The attorneys general talked about problems like ectopic pregnancies, heavy bleeding, hypertension, and other crises where getting an abortion quickly can mean the difference between life and death.
They also told hospitals that federal agencies can’t just change guideline documents to get rid of or change legislative laws. Regardless of who is president or what political issues are important, the rules of EMTALA still apply across the country.
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Attorney General Rayfield signed the letter along with leaders from California, New York, Illinois, Washington, and the District of Columbia, all of whom reaffirmed their commitment to protecting patients’ rights to emergency care. They all agreed that hospitals must keep provide crucial, lifesaving care without worrying about breaking state laws, even though the national situation for reproductive rights remains quite unclear.
