Mabel Wadsworth Center Statement Regarding EMTALA

We are horrified and appalled that the Trump administration has made the unconscionable decision to revoke the guidance under EMTALA requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortion care for patients even in states where abortion is banned. The medical care available to someone should not depend on their ZIP code. An individual’s autonomy should not depend on their ZIP code. The inherent humanity of pregnant people should not depend on their ZIP code.

We have already seen lives taken by abortion bans, even with EMTALA requiring emergency medical interventions to preserve the lives of patients, including in the form of abortion care. Politicians who implement these bans know that they are killing pregnant people. The cruelty is the point. Control is the point.

Abortion remains legal and available in Maine, including at Mabel Wadsworth Center. We are honored to provide this normal, needed care.