Current:Home > InvestSenate chairman demands answers from emergency rooms that denied care to pregnant patients-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Senate chairman demands answers from emergency rooms that denied care to pregnant patients
View Date:2024-12-23 15:14:28
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hospitals are facing questions about why they denied care to pregnant patients and whether state abortion bans have influenced how they treat those patients.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, sent inquiries to nine hospitals ahead of a hearing Tuesday looking at whether abortion bans have prevented or delayed pregnant women from getting help during their miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies or other medical emergencies.
He is part of a Democratic effort to focus the nation’s attention on the stories of women who have faced horrible realities since some states tightened a patchwork of abortion laws. The strict laws are injecting chaos and hesitation into the emergency room, Wyden said during Tuesday’s hearing.
“Some states that have passed abortion bans into law claim that they contain exceptions if a woman’s life is at risk,” Wyden said. “In reality, these exceptions are forcing doctors to play lawyer. And lawyer to play doctor. Providers are scrambling to make impossible decisions between providing critical care or a potential jail sentence.”
Republicans on Tuesday assailed the hearing, with outright denials about the impact abortion laws have on the medical care women in the U.S. have received, and called the hearing a politically-motivated attack just weeks ahead of the presidential election. Republicans, who are noticeably nervous about how the new abortion laws will play into the presidential race, lodged repeated complaints about the hearing’s title, “How Trump Criminalized Women’s Health Care.”
“Unfortunately, as demonstrated by the overtly partisan nature of the title, it appears that the purpose of today’s hearing is to score political points against the former president,” said Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, a Republican.
A federal law requires emergency rooms to provide stabilizing care for patients, a mandate that the Biden administration argues includes abortions needed to save the health or life of a woman. But anti-abortion advocates have argued that the law also requires hospitals to stabilize a fetus, too. The Senate Finance Committee comes into play because it oversees Medicare funding, which can be yanked when a hospital violates the federal law.
The Associated Press has reported that more than 100 women have been denied care in emergency rooms across the country since 2022. The women were turned away in states with and without strict abortion bans, but doctors in Florida and Missouri, for example, detailed in some cases they could not give patients the treatment they needed because of the state’s abortion bans. Wyden sent letters to four of the hospitals that were included in the AP’s reports, as well as a hospital at the center of a ProPublica report that found a Georgia woman died after doctors delayed her treatment.
Reports of women being turned away, several Republicans argued, are the result of misinformation or misunderstanding of abortion laws.
OB-GYN Amelia Huntsberger told the committee that she became very familiar with Idaho’s abortion law, which initially only allowed for abortions if a woman was at risk for death, when it went into effect in 2022. So did her husband, an emergency room doctor. A year ago, they packed and moved their family to Oregon as a result.
“It was clear that it was inevitable: if we stayed in Idaho, at some point there would be conflict between what a patient needed and what the laws would allow for,” Huntsberger said.
Huntsberger is not alone. Idaho has lost nearly 50 OB-GYNs since the state’s abortion ban was put into place.
veryGood! (724)
Related
- The Surreal Life’s Kim Zolciak Fuels Dating Rumors With Costar Chet Hanks After Kroy Biermann Split
- 'I will never forgive you for this': Whole Foods' Berry Chantilly cake recipe has changed
- Connecticut Sun fend off Minnesota Lynx down stretch of Game 1 behind Alyssa Thomas
- Adrien Brody reveals 'personal connection' to 3½-hour epic 'The Brutalist'
- Tropical Storm Sara threatens to bring flash floods and mudslides to Central America
- In Alabama loss, Georgia showed it has offense problems that Kirby Smart must fix soon
- Texas edges Alabama as new No. 1 in US LBM Coaches Poll after Crimson Tide's defeat of Georgia
- Hailey Bieber Debuts Hair Transformation One Month After Welcoming First Baby With Justin Bieber
- Beyoncé course coming to Yale University to examine her legacy
- FBI to pay $22M to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy
Ranking
- Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe
- Why Lionel Messi did Iron Man celebration after scoring in Inter Miami-Charlotte FC game
- The final day for the Oakland Athletics arrives ahead of next season’s move away from the Bay
- Exclusive: Kamala Harris campaign launches 'Athletes for Harris'
- Northern Taurid meteor shower hits peak activity this week: When and where to watch
- Opinion: Atlanta Falcons have found their identity in nerve-wracking finishes
- Angelina Jolie and 3 of Her Kids Make Rare Red Carpet Appearance at New York Film Festival
- Looking Back on Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk's Pinterest-Perfect Hamptons Wedding
Recommendation
-
Japan to resume V-22 flights after inquiry finds pilot error caused accident
-
Why Lionel Messi did Iron Man celebration after scoring in Inter Miami-Charlotte FC game
-
Fierce North Carolina congressional race could hinge on other names on the ballot
-
It’s a ‘very difficult time’ for U.S. Jews as High Holy Days and Oct. 7 anniversary coincide
-
He failed as a service dog. But that didn't stop him from joining the police force
-
Anna Delvey tells Tori Spelling she's not 'some abuser' after shared 'DWTS' eliminations
-
Trump is pointing to new numbers on migrants with criminal pasts. Here’s what they show
-
Rashee Rice's injury opens the door for Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy