SEATTLE (AP) — Governor. Jay Inslee On Tuesday, Washington said Washington will write into state law that hospitals must allow abortions if necessary to stabilize patients, a move that comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether conservative states can ban abortions during certain medical emergencies.
There is no evidence that patients in Washington have been denied emergency abortions, but the Democrat said at a news conference in Seattle that he wanted to dispel any doubt that hospitals were required to provide these services if needed.
“This is a preemptive measure against the Supreme Court’s decision,” Inslee said. “If your health is harmed in any way as a result of not calling emergency services, you should have the right to call emergency services.”
Most Republican-controlled states have imposed restrictions on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, which eliminated the right to terminate a pregnancy under federal law. Fourteen women have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.
Among them is Idaho, which bans abortion except in life-threatening situations, with doctors facing felony charges and up to five years in prison for violations. The Biden administration has filed a lawsuit to block Idaho’s ban, arguing that federal law requires hospitals that accept Medicare to perform emergency abortions when a patient’s health is threatened, but not necessarily their life.
The Supreme Court has left Idaho’s ban in place as it reviews the case, and a ruling is expected by the end of this month.
Most Democratic-controlled states have passed laws or issued executive orders to protect access to abortion, including Washington, which has been stockpiling a three-year supply of abortion drugs in case federal court rulings limit their availability.
Washington has also increased funding for reproductive care clinics, banned the State Patrol from participating in out-of-state abortion investigations, and passed a shield law to protect patients who get an abortion in Washington from extradition to face charges in another state.
Abortion rights advocates say the bans have already affected emergency care provided to pregnant women. More women whose conditions are typically treated with abortions now have to be flown out of state for care because doctors must wait until they are near death before they can arrange an abortion within the limits of state law.
Washington’s administrative code says hospitals must provide emergency services to patients, but so far it doesn’t specifically mention that that includes emergency abortions. Inslee ordered the Department of Health to change that.
“Washington state hospitals are already required by state law to provide emergency care to people experiencing these types of pregnancy complications,” the Washington State Hospital Association said in a written statement Tuesday. “Hospitals in Washington provide this care, including to people who have crossed the border from Idaho and need care.”
The number of women coming to Washington from out of state for abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe has increased by 50%, Inslee said.
Dr. Sarah Prager, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, said Tuesday that she has treated patients who have traveled to Washington over the past two years after being unable to get care at home — including one with premature rupture of membranes and infected uterus, one another with a complicated ectopic pregnancy that was on the verge of rupture, and a third who was bleeding from an incomplete miscarriage.
“If I, or any doctor, has a sick patient in front of me, I shouldn’t have to pause and consult the hospital’s legal team to find out if I have the capacity to take action,” Prager said. “These wasted moments can cost patients their health, their future fertility and even their lives.”
Abortion opponents say doctors have mishandled maternal emergencies and argue the Biden administration has overestimated the danger of undermining state abortion bans.
“We want the highest standard of care for women, and we make an exception for abortion to save the life of the mother,” including in cases of ectopic pregnancy, said Esther Rippler, president of Human Life of Washington. “But if you say ‘health’ is under threat – that’s an interesting proposition, because now ‘health’ can mean, ‘Oh, I have a headache, I need an abortion.’ … We have to be very specific about what that emergency is and what it isn’t.”
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Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill contributed from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
