Texas sued the Biden administration Thursday for threatening hospitals to either commit abortions or risk losing their Medicaid and Medicare funds.
Earlier this week, Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning to health care providers who will stop performing abortions in medical emergencies even in states where those abortions would be illegal.
On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against the Biden administration, accusing Joe Biden of “flagrantly disregarding the legislative and democratic process and flouting the Supreme Court’s ruling before the ink is dry.”
More details of this report from CNBC:
Physicians must provide abortions in medical emergencies under federal law and will face penalties if they decline to offer the procedure in these cases, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote in a letter to health care providers on Monday.
Becerra said federal law pre-empts state abortion bans in cases where women face medical emergencies associated with pregnancy under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. If an abortion is necessary to treat a woman facing a medical emergency, physicians must offer the procedure, the health secretary wrote.
Hospitals that decline to provide abortions in these cases could have their Medicare provider agreement terminated or face financial penalties, Becerra said. Individual physicians could also be cut from Medicare and state health programs if they refuse to offer abortions in medical emergencies, he added. Physicians can also use federal law as a defense if they face state prosecution when providing abortions in emergencies, according to HHS.
The Epoch Times also reported:
Texas on July 14 sued the federal government over a recent document that says abortions must be performed even if the procedures are not allowed by state laws.
The guidance amounts to an abortion mandate and is illegal because it violates multiple laws, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke out on the lawsuit saying he’ll “ensure the left’s abortion agenda can’t reach TX babies.”
Biden is attempting to twist federal law to force abortions in TX. SCOTUS returned the issue to states. TX law protects pre-born life. Biden’s HHS is attempting to undo all that.
Not on my watch. I just filed suit. I’ll ensure the left’s abortion agenda can’t reach TX babies. pic.twitter.com/P84jlF893T
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 14, 2022
Texas will not be intimidated by the aggression of the Biden administration. Instead, the state will continue to protect innocent human life and ensure our Pro-Life laws are fully enforced, including against executive overreach; and build a fully Pro-Life state where women and their preborn children flourish, Texas Right to Life noted.
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, CNBC, The Epoch Times