Supreme Court declines Biden's appeal in Texas emergency abortion case

WASHINGTON (AP) — A court order that says hospitals cannot federally be required to provide pregnancy terminations when they violate a Texas abortion ban will stay for now, the Supreme Court said Monday.

The decision is another setback for opponents of Texas’ abortion ban, which for two years has withstood multiple legal challenges, including from women who had serious pregnancy complications and have been turned away by doctors.

It left Texas as the only state where the Biden administration is unable to enforce its interpretation of a federal law in an effort to ensure women still have access to emergency abortions when their health or life is at risk.

The justices did not detail their reasoning for keeping in place a lower court order, and there were no publicly noted dissents. Texas had asked the justices to leave the order in place while the Biden administration had asked the justices to throw it out.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the decision “a major victory.”

The Biden administration argues that a federal law, called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, requires emergency rooms to provide abortions if a pregnant patient’s health or life is at serious risk, even in states where the procedure is banned. The law only applies to emergency rooms that receive Medicare funding, which most hospitals do.

The Supreme Court decision comes weeks before a presidential election in which Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has put abortion at the center of her campaign, attacking Republican challenger Donald Trump for appointing judges to the high court who overturned nationwide abortion rights in 2022.

“I will never stop fighting for a woman’s right to emergency medical care — and to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade so that women in every state have access to the care they need,” Harris said on social media Monday evening.

Texas' abortion ban has also been a centerpiece of Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred ’s challenge against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cuz for his seat.

At a campaign event over the weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, hundreds of Allred’s supporters broke out in raucous applause when he vowed to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. “When I’m in the Senate, we’re going to restore Roe v. Wade," Allred said.

At a separate event the same day, in a nearby suburb, Cruz outlined a litany of criticisms against Allred, but didn’t bring up the abortion law.

Katie Glenn Daniel, the state policy director of SBA Pro-Life America, applauded the Supreme Court decision and pointed to data showing Texas doctors have been able to provide an average of about five abortions per month to save a patient's life or health.

Still, complaints of pregnant women in medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms in Texas and elsewhere have spiked as hospitals grapple with whether standard care could violate strict state laws against abortion. Several Texas women have lodged complaints against hospitals for not terminating their failing and dangerous pregnancies because of the state's ban. In some cases, women lost reproductive organs.

In asking the Supreme Court to toss out the lower court decision, the administration pointed to a similar case from Idaho earlier this year in which the justices narrowly allowed emergency abortions to resume while a lawsuit continues. At the time the Idaho case began, the state had an exception for the life, but not the health, of a woman.

Texas said its case is different, however, because the law provides some exceptions if a pregnant patient's health is at risk.

Texas pointed to a state Supreme Court ruling that said doctors do not have to wait until a woman’s life is in immediate danger to provide an abortion legally. Doctors, though, have said the Texas law is dangerously vague, and a medical board has refused to list all the conditions that qualify for an exception.

Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said doctors in Texas got no clarity from the Supreme Court on Monday.

“The health care crisis is ongoing,” Hearron said. “Patients are going to continue to suffer.”

Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California at Davis who has written extensively about abortion, said there remains much uncertainty for doctors in Texas, who could risk life in prison for performing abortions.

“I think we’re going to continue to see physicians turning away patients, even patients who could qualify under the state’s exceptions, because the consequences of guessing wrong are so severe and the laws are not that clear,” Ziegler said.

The Texas case started after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to abortion restrictions in many Republican-controlled states. The Biden administration issued guidance saying hospitals still needed to provide abortions in emergency situations under a health care law that requires most hospitals to treat any patients in medical distress.

Texas sued over that guidance, arguing that hospitals cannot be required to provide abortions that would violate its ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a post on X, “Reproductive rights are under assault in this country and women’s health and lives remain in danger from the chaos and confusion caused by overturning Roe.”

Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. AP reporters Amanda Seitz in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Aamer Madhani in Washington also contributed to this report.

Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban

Supreme Court lets stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban

FILE - The Supreme Court building is seen, June 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

LAKE LURE, N.C. (AP) — The head of the U.S. disaster response agency continued to forcefully push back Monday against false claims and conspiracy theories about her agency’s response to Hurricane Helene as the death toll from the storm continued to climb.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell pointed to the agency's massive, collaborative effort that keeps growing, and she strongly urged residents in hard-hit areas to accept the government’s offer for assistance.

“We have thousands of people on the ground, not just federal, but also our volunteers in the private sector,” Criswell said at a news conference in Asheville, North Carolina. “And frankly, that type of rhetoric is demoralizing to our staff that have left their families to come here and help the people of North Carolina. And we will be here as long as they’re needed.”

Misinformation has spread over the past week in communities hit the hardest by Helene, including that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have questioned FEMA’s response and falsely claimed that its funding is going to migrants or foreign wars.

FEMA has dedicated part of its website to providing accurate answers to questions and addressing rumors on its response to Helene.

On Friday, the agency put out a statement debunking rumors that it will only provide $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery. Criswell said that initial money helps residents with expenses for medicine or food. She said additional funding will be available to reimburse them for the cost of home repairs, personal items lost, post-hurricane rental units and hotel stays.

“But I can’t give it to them if they don’t apply,” Criswell said. “And if people are afraid to apply, then it is hurting them.”

When asked directly about a circulating claim that FEMA would seize people’s property if they don’t pay back the $750 in within one year, Criswell said that was “absolutely false.”

The cleanup and response to the storm that killed at least 230 people continued Monday, while Milton strengthened rapidly into a Category 5 hurricane on a path toward Florida, the same area battered by Helene less than two weeks ago.

More than 130,000 customers in western North Carolina were still without electricity Monday, according to poweroutage.us.

Also in North Carolina, more than 1,600 local and state search-and-rescue team members have been joined by about 1,700 members of the state National Guard, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said Monday that an additional 500 active-duty troops have been deployed to North Carolina. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said troops with advanced technological assets will be arriving, bringing the total number of active-duty forces to about 1,500. The troops are bringing surveillance equipment to allow officials to get a better overview of the region.

Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said search-and-rescue aircraft were flying 10-hour sorties providing wellness checks, medical care and evacuations. He called the military’s operations the “most important and honorable mission for us, which is to help fellow citizens.”

Cooper said more than 50 water systems were destroyed or impaired by the storm and that the pace of restoring service varies by community. He said he couldn't give a specific timeline but said the process might take longer in Asheville and Buncombe County, where at least six dozen people died.

“It’s still going to be a while,” he said.

In South Carolina, officials estimate $250 million has been spent on debris cleanup, infrastructure damage and emergency response. More than 300 homes were destroyed and 5,200 damaged, state Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson said Monday.

The state's largest school district, Greeneville County, plans to reopen Wednesday after shutting down for seven days. The district said it has had to modify bus routes because of blocked roads, closed bridges, sinkholes, and traffic signal outages at major intersections.

In Tennessee, where at least 12 people died from Helene, Gov. Bill Lee on Monday visited Bristol Motor Speedway, now a hub for collecting donations for victims and centralizing other operations in the wake of the flooding. Lee met with coordinators and volunteers who were sorting through donations.

“These are Tennesseans and they’re hurting,” Lee said. “Not only are they hurting, but they’re helping.”

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Jeffrey Collins and George Walker contributed to this report.

Volunteer Ann Davis speaks with Gov. Bill Lee, right, during his visit to the East Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, for Hurricane Helene disaster response Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV via Pool)

Gov. Bill Lee visits with a volunteer at the East Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, for Hurricane Helene disaster response Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV via Pool)

Contractors for Duke Energy rebuild destroyed electrical lines near the Swannanoa River in Asheville, N.C., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)

A worker cuts up a tree that impaled itself on a fire hydrant during Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)