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In the wake of the US Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to overturn of Roe v. Wade, legal cases and regulations continue to evolve.
ACEP reasserts our unwavering support of EMTALA and the right of the emergency physician to provide the highest quality medical care to pregnant patients without fear of legal consequences.
ACEP has created a cross-disciplinary task force to help identify and develop recommendations to address gaps in existing regulation or statute that could create clinical and legal barriers to how emergency physicians practice emergency medicine.
If you have witnessed a patient’s care get comprised, delayed, or had worse outcomes as a result of reproductive health restrictions, you can anonymously and safely report them at this link. ACEP is partnering with University of California San Francisco to better identify patterns of gaps in emergency care that are emerging and take appropriate action to protect our members.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has an online portal for patients, health care workers or others to file an EMTALA complaint. The portal is designed to make it easier for anyone to report violations and to ensure full access to emergency care as is required under EMTALA, including for reproductive health issues.
ACEP is working with a coalition of leading national medical societies to address legal barriers that hinder emergency physicians’ ability to practice medicine. This effort includes submitting an amicus brief in United States v. State of Idaho, a case that underscores the state law’s clear conflict with EMTALA. As the brief notes, “the Idaho law is not just a bad law, it’s bad medicine.”
ACEP also signed onto a brief in Texas v. Becerra that explains how the state of Texas is misunderstanding physicians’ EMTALA obligations and that laws prohibiting emergency physicians from providing appropriate care could put pregnant patients at risk.
ACEP is working to assess the relevant changes to federal laws and review the clinical policies impacted by the Court’s decision. Through the ACEP Council, emergency physicians will be able to draft, discuss and vote on resolutions that impact policies and best practices.
Many of the discussions around implementation will occur at the state level. There are numerous opportunities for emergency physicians to get involved with their ACEP state chapter and use their voice to help navigate and shape the changing landscape. There could also be opportunities with ACEP sections or committees examining the impact of the policy changes on clinical practice, state and federal advocacy efforts, communications and more.
Early pregnancy loss in the emergency department, 2006–2016 - Benson - 2021 (Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open, Volume 2, Issue 6, December, 2021)
“They're Doing Their Job”: Women's Acceptance of Emergency Department Contraception Counseling (Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 76, Issue 4, P515-526, October 01, 2020)
Emergency Department Use in the Perinatal Period: An Opportunity for Early Intervention (Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 70, Issue 6, P835-839, December 01, 2017)
Emergency Physician Ultrasonography for Evaluating Patients at Risk for Ectopic Pregnancy: A Meta-Analysis (Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 56, Issue 6, P674-683, December 01, 2010)
