Supreme Court denies Biden administration appeal over federal emergency abortion requirement in Texas

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The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear oral arguments about whether a Texas state abortion requirement is at odds with a federal emergency care law – permitting the restriction in the Lone Star State to be upheld. 

Supreme Court justices, for now, are keeping in place a lower court ruling that hospitals in Texas can deny terminating certain emergency pregnancies that violate state law, despite the federal requirement.

The Biden administration had requested that the justices overturn the lower court's ruling, contending that federal law requires hospitals to provide abortions in emergency situations. They referenced last term, when the Supreme Court permitted emergency room abortions to continue in Idaho while a lawsuit continues in federal court. Texas is asserting that its laws are distinct from Idaho's because Texas has a health exception for pregnant patients.

TEXAS SUPREME COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO STATE ABORTION BAN'S MEDICAL EXCEPTIONS

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

In Texas, the central legal issue is whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which mandates hospitals to treat emergency conditions, overrides state laws that prohibit abortion in emergencies. The case focuses on whether a state can stop an emergency physician from performing an abortion if it’s necessary to stabilize a pregnant woman's health.

Previously, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in June against a group of women who suffered serious pregnancy complications and became the first in the country to testify in court about being denied abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sept. 20, 2024. (Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a unanimous ruling, the court upheld the Texas law after the women filed a lawsuit in March 2023 seeking clarity on when exceptions to the abortion ban are permitted, arguing the law was confusing for doctors who might turn away patients over fears of repercussions.

The court ultimately ruled that the law's exceptions are broad enough and that doctors would be misinterpreting the law if they decided not to perform an abortion when the mother's life is in danger.

With the SCOTUS decision looming just a month before Election Day, abortion has become a major focus for the Harris-Walz campaign.

Fox News' Landon Mion, Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.