Supreme Court Rebuffs Cases On Abortion, IVF; Georgia Reinstates Abortion Ban
Lower courts' rulings are allowed to stand on whether EMTALA supersedes the Texas abortion law and whether Alabamans may seek redress for the wrongful death of an embryo.
Bloomberg:
Supreme Court In Texas Abortion Case Rules Against Biden Administration
The US Supreme Court rebuffed the Biden administration in an abortion clash, leaving intact an appeals court decision favoring Texas in a fight over the availability of the procedure in hospital emergency rooms. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said Texas, which has a broad abortion ban, wasn’t bound by a Department of Health and Human Services memorandum requiring hospitals to offer the procedure on an emergency basis to protect a mother’s health. The administration had asked the high court to order reconsideration of that ruling. (Stohr, 10/7)
AP:
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Of Alabama IVFs Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an Alabama ruling that triggered concerns about in vitro fertilization availability by allowing couples to pursue wrongful death lawsuits over the the accidental destruction of frozen embryos. A fertility clinic and hospital had asked the court to review the Alabama Supreme Court decision that a couple, who had a frozen embryo destroyed in an accident, could pursue a lawsuit against them for the wrongful death of their “minor child.” Justices turned down the petition without comment. (10/7)
Georgia's abortion ban will go back into effect —
The Washington Post:
Georgia Supreme Court Reinstates 6-Week Abortion Ban As It Considers Appeal
The Georgia Supreme Court moved to restore the state’s six-week abortion ban Monday, once again severely restricting the procedure as it considers an appeal in a long-running legal challenge to the law. The ruling stays a lower court decision last week that had overturned Georgia’s abortion ban, allowing the procedure to be performed until the 22nd week of pregnancy. The latest decision, from the state’s highest court, takes effect Monday at 5 p.m., making abortions illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, the earliest that fetal cardiac electrical activity can be detected and before many people know they are expecting. (Somasundaram, 10/7)
In other abortion news —
CNN:
Watch: Medical Students From Abortion Ban States Turn To Papayas To Practice Lifesaving Procedures
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion training at medical schools in more than a dozen states with near-total abortion bans has been severely limited. Now some medical students, many of whom attend prestigious schools, have chosen to travel out of state to attend workshops that teach them how to perform a manual vacuum aspiration. It’s a procedure used for patients seeking induced abortions, but also for those facing life threatening pregnancy complications. CNN was invited to a hotel conference room in Philadelphia to witness a training. (10/7)
