Can states prevent doctors from giving emergency abortions, even if federal law requires them to do so? The Supreme Court will decide

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia and Sonia Suter, George Washington University

(THE CONVERSATION) Hospitals across the country have long operated under the same federal law that says they must treat and stabilize all patients when they have a medical emergency.

But in states that now ban abortions and have limited or no health exceptions to these restrictions, medical providers face an impossible situation. They can administer a medically necessary abortion and violate state law, potentially facing jail time and losing their licenses, or they can decide not to provide the abortion and violate federal law, potentially resulting in the patient experiencing significant harm or even dying.

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on this legal conflict on April 24, 2024, when it considers Moyle v. United States. This case centers on the federal law, known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, which was designed to prevent hospital emergency rooms from refusing to treat patients who couldn’t...