August 16, 2022 10:50 a.m.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has joined 21 state Attorneys General in filing two “friend of the court” briefs, one in Idaho and one in Texas courts – defending abortion access.

A release from the Oregon Office of Attorney General said one supports the federal government’s lawsuit to prevent Idaho’s near-total abortion ban from interfering with medically necessary emergency abortions. The other opposes arguments by Texas that states can prohibit emergency abortions regardless of federal law.

The release said in both briefs, the state Attorneys General underscore that every hospital with an emergency department and that participates in Medicare is subject to the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. Under that law, emergency rooms must provide stabilizing treatment for all patients with an emergency medical condition. Decades of federal guidance and judicial interpretation have held that stabilizing treatment required under EMTALA includes emergency abortion care, according to Rosenblum.