Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-726_6jgm.pdf
Page Number: 28.0

Cite as:  603 U. S. ____ (2024) 

5 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

part.”  §1395dd(e)(1)(A) (emphasis added).2 

When a hospital determines that an “emergency medical 
condition” exists, it has two options.  It may provide “treat-
ment”  within  the  capability  of  its  “staff  and  facilities.”
§1395dd(b)(1)(A). Or it may “transfer . . . the individual” to 
another  hospital  that  “has  available  space  and  qualified
personnel for the treatment” as long as the transfer would 
effect  a  net  benefit  for  the  patient.    §§1395dd(b)(1)(B),
(c)(2)(B)(i).

At no point in its elaboration of the screening, stabiliza-
tion,  and  transfer  requirements  does  EMTALA  mention 
abortion.  Just the opposite is true: EMTALA requires the
hospital  at  every  stage  to  protect  an  “unborn  child”  from 
harm. 

Begin with the screening provision, which requires a hos-
pital  “to  determine  whether  or  not  an  emergency  medical
condition (within the meaning of subsection (e)(1)) exists.” 
§1395dd(a).  “[W]ith respect to a pregnant woman,” subsec-
tion  (e)(1)  defines  an  emergency  medical  condition  as  one 
that is sufficiently serious to “plac[e] . . . the health of the 
woman  or  her  unborn  child  . . .  in  serious  jeopardy.”
§1395dd(e)(1)(A)(i) (emphasis added).  Thus, if the hospital 
identifies an emergency medical condition threatening the
child, it must “stabilize” that condition to ensure that the 
child’s  health  does  not 
“jeopardy.” 
§§1395dd(b)(1)(A), (e)(1)(A)(i).  It goes without saying that 
aborting an “unborn child” does not protect it from jeopardy. 
Similarly,  if  a  hospital  wants  to  transfer  a  pregnant 
woman to another facility, it may not do so unless, among 
other things, a physician certifies directly or through an in-
termediary that the medical benefits of transfer outweigh 

remain 

in 

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2 At  oral  argument,  the  Solicitor  General stated  that,  in  the  Govern-
ment’s view, an “impairment” or “dysfunction” under §1395dd (e)(1)(A)(i) 
and (ii) may be temporary.  Tr. of Oral Arg.  80.