June 3, 2025
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is gravely concerned by the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to rescind its guidance that reinforced hospitals’ obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to provide life- and health-saving abortion care in medical emergencies.
Let us be clear: EMTALA remains in effect, and hospitals continue to have a federal obligation to provide stabilizing treatment to all patients experiencing medical emergencies—including abortion care when necessary to prevent serious harm or death. This duty is non-negotiable and rooted in both federal law and medical ethics.
Rescinding this guidance sows dangerous confusion at the expense of patient safety. It places clinicians in an impossible position: weighing threats of legal action against their ethical and legal responsibility to provide necessary care. It may delay or deter treatment in critical moments when every second matters.
ACNM stands with our midwifery colleagues, physicians, nurses, and all health care professionals who continue to act in the best interest of their patients—especially pregnant people facing medical emergencies. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring safe, timely, and appropriate emergency reproductive health care, regardless of political interference.
We urge HHS and all relevant federal agencies to provide clear, consistent, and unwavering support for health care providers acting under EMTALA obligations. Patients’ lives depend on it.