Biden administration asks appeals court to bless its attempt to turn ERs into abortion facilities

WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following hearing in State of Texas v. Becerra
WHEN: Immediately following hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. CST, Tuesday, Nov. 7
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, 600 Camp St., New Orleans, or view the livestream. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Media Relations Specialist Hayden Sledge at (205) 767-4705.

NEW ORLEANS – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys will be available for media interviews Tuesday following oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in State of Texas v. Becerra, a case concerning the illegal use of federal law to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

ADF attorneys representing the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, alongside the state of Texas, asked a federal appeals court to keep in place a lower court ruling halting the Biden administration from employing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to force doctors to provide elective abortions in emergency rooms.

“Hospitals—especially emergency rooms—are centers for preserving life. The government has no business transforming them into abortion clinics,” said ADF Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert, who will be arguing before the court. “Doctors shouldn’t be forced to break the Hippocratic Oath, and they shouldn’t have to choose between violating their deeply held beliefs or facing stiff financial penalties and being barred from the Medicare program. Emergency room physicians can, and do, treat ectopic pregnancies and other life-threatening conditions. But elective abortion is not life-saving care—it ends the life of the unborn child—and the government has no authority to force doctors to perform these dangerous procedures. We urge the court to uphold the lower court’s ruling and allow emergency rooms to fulfill their primary function—saving lives.”

Dozens of advocacy organizations joined ADF in support of pro-life physicians and the state of Texas in multiple friend-of-the-court briefs filed with the court in July.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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