Senator Murray Challenges Republicans to Join Democrats in Affirming the Right to Lifesaving Emergency Care for Women

ICYMI: Murray Leads Congressional Democrats in Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Affirm that EMTALA Requires Hospitals to Provide Emergency Stabilizing Care Including Abortion Care, Preempts Idaho's Draconian Abortion Ban

ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Murray Shines Spotlight On How Trump Abortion Bans are Killing Women in America

ICYMI - FROM PROPUBLICA: Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother's Death Was Preventable.

***WATCH: SENATOR MURRAY'S REMARKS HERE***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP), spoke at a press conference in the Capitol with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) following introduction of her resolution which simply expresses the sense of the Senate that every patient has the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care, regardless of where they live. Murray will seek unanimous consent to pass her resolution later this afternoon on the Senate floor and challenged Senate Republicans to join Democrats in affirming the basic right to lifesaving emergency care for women. Introduction of Murray's resolution follows new reporting from ProPublica that makes plain that Republican abortion bans are preventing women from receiving lifesaving emergency health care and resulting in preventable deaths.

"I really want to emphasize that-we are talking about women whose water breaks dangerously early, or who are experiencing uncontrollable hemorrhage, sepsis, or pre-eclampsia," said Senator Murray at today's press conference. "These are the patients we are saying doctors should treat under the basic right to emergency care. Today we are going to try and pass this resolution, and we are going to see if the Senate can come together with one voice, and tell women: we want to put your health first, we want to put your life first, we want to make sure you get the care you need in an emergency. It is a simple message-but sadly, it has become a necessary one. Now I don't know if Republicans are going to let us pass this or not. Republicans sometimes talk about protecting the life of the mother, but frankly they have yet to lift a finger to ensure doctors can always do that."

"So we'll see where they fall today, but even if they block this resolution-we are NOT going to stop fighting to protect women, to help everyone get the care they need, and, ultimately, to restore the reproductive rights Donald Trump ripped away," said Senator Murray in closing.

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade over two years ago, nearly two dozen US states led by Republicans have passed, banned, or severely restricted access to abortion. These strict laws have created confusion around the treatment doctors can provide even when a pregnant patient's life is in danger, as physicians fear that they may lose their medical license, be sued, or even charged with a felony if they perform life-saving emergency care. Despite the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act's (EMTALA) requirements that Medicare-participating hospitals treat and stabilize pregnant patients in need of emergency medical care, women are being turned away from emergency rooms following the Dobbs decision.

In Moyle v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court had the opportunity to reaffirm that federal law requires pregnant patients to have access to life-saving emergency care in every state, but instead, the Court dismissed the case and sent it back to the lower courts, effectively punting on making a decision on the case itself. While the litigation continues in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the health and lives of women remain at risk as uncertainty around emergency abortion care persists. 121 Congressional Republicans, including 26 Senators, filed an amicus brief arguing that EMTALA does not require hospitals to provide abortion care as emergency stabilizing care in order to save a patient's life.

Senator Murray is a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court's disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introducedmorethan a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the floor multiple times. Senator Murray also co-leads the Women's Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide. This January, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a "State of Abortion Rights" briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans. On June 4^th of this year, Senator Murray chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled "The Assault on Women's Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America." Recently, Murray also helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice). Murray has also led her colleagues in raising the alarm about how a second Trump administration intends to wage an all-out assault on reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025.

Senator Murray's full remarks, as prepared, are below:

"Donald Trump has been loudly bragging about how he ended Roe v Wade. He's been making the outrageous claim that everyone wanted that.

"Meanwhile, Republicans have been totally ignoring the horror and heartbreak they have unleashed. Even as women and doctors are speaking out about it every day.

"Here in America, in the 21^st century, pregnant women are suffering and even dying not because doctors don't know how to save them, but because doctors don't know if Republicans will let them.

"I spoke about this at length last week, but new reporting about the tragic deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller tells the story with brutal clarity. There are children in Georgia today, who are growing up without a mother because of Republicans' abortion bans.

"And the painful reality is-these may be among the first stories reported in such detail, but they are most certainly not the only ones. The data shows in Texas, maternal deaths skyrocketed after Republicans enacted strict abortion bans.

"How does anyone shrug that off? How does any Republican think the chaos their bans have caused will blow over?

"No woman is going to forget when she was sent off to miscarry alone after her doctor said-look I know your life is in danger but I am not sure I am allowed to save you right now.

"No husband is going to forget calling 911 in a panic, after finding his wife, bloody and unconscious.

"No child is going to forget-for a single day of their life-the mother that was taken from them by Republican bans.

"This cruelty is unforgettable-and unacceptable. Democrats will not let it become settled status quo. Americans will not let it.

"And that's why, last week I introduced a simple resolution which reaffirms the basic principle that: when you go to the ER, they should be allowed to treat you; when your life is in danger, doctors should be able to do their job; when you need emergency care-including an abortion-no politician should stop you from getting it.

"That should not be controversial. Especially if everyone who talks about protecting the life of the mother seriously means it. After all-that is what emergency care is for-saving the life of the mother.

"I really want to emphasize that-we are talking about women whose water breaks dangerously early, or who are experiencing uncontrollable hemorrhage, sepsis, or pre-eclampsia. These are the patients we are saying doctors should treat under the basic right to emergency care…

"Today we are going to try and pass this resolution, and we are going to see if the Senate can come together with one voice, and tell women: we want to put your health first; we want to put your life first. we want to make sure you get the care you need in an emergency.

"It is a simple message-but sadly, it has become a necessary one.

"Now I don't know if Republicans are going to let us pass this or not. Republicans sometimes talk about protecting the life of the mother-but frankly they have yet to lift a finger to ensure doctors can always do that. So we'll see where they fall today.

"But even if they block this resolution-we are not going to stop fighting to protect women, to help everyone get the care they need, and, ultimately, to restore the reproductive rights Donald Trump ripped away."

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