A court has ruled Texas doctors don't need to perform emergency abortions. Here's what that means

This week, a federal appeals court ruled Texas doctors don't need to perform emergency abortions despite guidance from the Biden administration. Here's what that means.

A federal appeals court ruled this week that Texas hospitals and doctors are not required to perform emergency abortions despite guidance from the Biden administration.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in a unanimous decision on Tuesday, said the federal government had misinterpreted the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and that the law "does not mandate any specific type of medical treatment, let alone abortion."

Here's what it means when it comes to abortion access in Texas:

In July 2022, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued guidance that under EMTALA, which was passed in 1986, doctors must perform abortions in emergency departments -- even in states where the procedure is illegal -- if the patient needs "stabilizing medical treatment" for an emergency medical condition.

The move was one of the attempts of the Biden administration to preserve abortion access in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ending federal protections for abortion rights.