Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), the nation’s largest faith-based professional healthcare association, today announced an important victory from the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that protects the conscientious liberties of healthcare professionals from coercion abortion
“Abortion is not health care, and this move by the federal government is specifically designed to force doctors to perform abortions,” said CMDA Senior Vice President of Bioethics and Public Policy Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA (Ethics), who is an OB/Gyn . “Health care professionals are focused on trying to save their patients—not on trying to end the life of the unborn. This drastic attempt by HHS puts our patients at risk, and the appeals court rightly agreed that it is illegal. This decision protects our most basic constitutional freedoms of conscience, speech and exercise of religion.”
In State of Texas v. Becerra, CMDA joined the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) to prevent the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from attempting to use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to force doctors with ability to perform elective abortions. to provide elective abortions in the emergency room. A federal district court issued a order in August and December 2022 to block this attempt by HHS in Texas and for all CMDA and AAPLOG members, and the the appeals court unanimously agreed in this decision.
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This decision applies to the state of Texas and to AAPLOG and CMDA members located across the country, upholding the liberties of conscience for thousands of health care professionals in countless emergency rooms and hospitals across the United States. united states
“Hospitals—especially emergency rooms—are dedicated to the preservation of life. The 5th Circuit correctly ruled that the federal government has no business turning abortion clinics into abortion clinics,” said ADF Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert, who argued before the court. “Doctors should not be forced to break the Hippocratic Oath, and they do not have to choose between violating their deeply held beliefs or facing severe financial penalties and being banned from federally funded health programs. Emergency room physicians can, and do, treat life-threatening conditions such as ectopic pregnancies. But elective abortion is not life-saving care—it ends the life of an unborn child—and the government has no authority to compel doctors to perform these this dangerous procedure. We are pleased that the courts are allowing emergency rooms to fulfill their primary function—saving lives.”
CMDA is represented in this case by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the world’s largest legal organization dedicated to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights and God’s design for marriage and family
