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Federal health officials said doctors and hospitals must provide an abortion under federal law when a pregnant woman in emergency medical condition needs the procedure to be stabilized. The Health and Human Services Department said Monday a federal law protecting access to emergency treatment mandates performing an abortion if a doctor deems it necessary in a medical emergency even if the procedure isn’t legal under state law. (Evans, 7/11)

The Department of Health and Human Services cited requirements on medical facilities in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA. The law requires medical facilities to determine whether a person seeking treatment may be in labor or whether they face an emergency health situation — or one that could develop into an emergency — and to provide treatment. ... The department said emergency conditions include “ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features.” Currently, even the states with the most stringent bans on abortion do allow exceptions when the health of a mother is at risk, though the threat of prosecution has created confusion for some doctors. (Miller, 7/12)

CMS previously updated its EMTALA guidance last year, after Texas banned most abortions. But the agency has heard from physicians that they need more clarity because some fear offering treatments they believe are appropriate in emergency situations, the HHS official said. The updated guidance is an attempt to reassure providers that their patients don't have to be nearly dead before they can take action, and that physicians' clinical judgment is protected by federal law, the official added. (Goldman, 7/11)

As President Joe Biden faces calls for more drastic action on abortion, the legal team vetting his options has found itself preoccupied by a single pressing concern: That any action they could take would simply be struck down by the very court that put them in this place. Those fears have complicated and slowed the White House’s post-Roe actions, with officials worried a more aggressive response from Biden could backfire, further entrench anti-abortion restrictions and open the door to even more severe limits on his executive power. (Cancryn, 7/11)

Several Senate Democrats said they would vote against the confirmation of a conservative, anti-abortion federal judge nominee if President Joe Biden follows through with a purported deal with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. (Garrison, Wells, Sonka and Wolfson, 7/11)

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) are asking that Senate Democrats take a stand on whether conservative Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee during their confirmation hearings. (Mueller, 7/11)