This week, the Trump administration announced that hospitals are not required to provide abortion in life threatening circumstances – defying the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA),  a 40-year-old federal law that protects people’s right to emergency medical care.

In response, Tamara Marzouk, Director of Abortion Access at Advocates for Youth, issued the following statement:

“Everyone experiencing a health crisis should have access to life-saving health care, without political interference – including pregnant people who need an abortion. The Trump Administration’s decision is based in anti-abortion ideology that threatens the lives of pregnant people experiencing dangerous medical emergencies. To withhold medical care from those in need is unconscionable.

Barriers to health care and to abortion care take the highest toll on young people, and on young people of color in particular. We must work toward a future where every young person has the autonomy to make decisions about their body and their future unobstructed by political extremism or judicial activism.”

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Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)3 organization that champions efforts that help young people make informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates for Youth boldly advocates for a more positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health, focusing its work on young people ages 14-24 in the U.S. and around the globe.

For Immediate Release: June 4, 2025

Contact: Eleanor Naiman, eleanor.naiman@advocatesforyouth.org