Obstetric-Related Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act Violations and No Health Exception Bans

How did obstetric-related Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) violations change in association with state-level abortion policy?In this difference-in-differences analysis of EMTALA violations from 2018 to the first quarter of 2023, states with no health exceptions saw a substantial rise in obstetric-related violations that were associated with policies adopted by Texas. There was a concurrent rise in emergency department utilization, and screening failures suggest that violations may have increasingly occurred on arrival before treatment.The study results suggest that state abortion laws may undermine federally protected care in obstetric emergencies.

Corresponding Author: Liana R. Woskie, PhD, MSc, Department of Community Health, Tufts University, 547 Boston Ave, Medford, MA 02155 (liana.woskie@tufts.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.