Women Denied Abortions Sue Texas Seeking Clarity on “Medical Emergency” Exception
- March 10, 2023
Five women are suing Texas alleging they and “countless other pregnant people” have been denied potentially life-saving obstetrical care because of the state’s near-total abortion bans.
The Center for Reproductive Rights brought the reportedly first-of-its kind lawsuit on behalf of the women and two Texas obstetrician-gynecologists in a state court in Austin. The lawsuit names as defendants the state of Texas, the Texas Medical Board (TMB), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and TMB’s Executive Director Stephen Brint Carlton.
According to the complaint, one of the women had to wait until she became septic before receiving an abortion, resulting in permanent damage to her fallopian tube. The four other named plaintiffs had to travel out of state for care after experiencing dangerous pregnancy complications. “Plaintiffs represent only the tip of the iceberg,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit contends that medical professionals are delaying or refusing to provide necessary obstetrical care to pregnant people in the face of potential criminal and civil liability, stiff fines, and revocation of their medical licenses under Texas’ abortion bans, despite exceptions for protecting the life and health of the pregnant person.
“[A]bortion bans are preventing pregnant people from receiving the standard of care from their medical professionals in time of crisis,” the complaint alleges. “[P]ervasive fear and uncertainty throughout the medical community regarding the scope of the life and health exceptions have put patients’ lives and physicians’ liberty at grave risk.”
Texas’ so-called trigger ban, which went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, makes performing an abortion a felony. Medical professionals that violate the trigger ban also could lose their medical license and be subject to the civil penalties of not less than $100,000.
Senate Bill 8, enacted in 2021, effectively prohibits abortion beyond the point that an embryo or fetus has detectable cardiac activity, typically around six weeks. The law allows individuals to sue those who “aid or abet” abortions for statutory damages of not less than $10,000.
While these laws include exceptions for pregnant patients with emergent medical conditions, conflicting language regarding physician discretion and intent is creating widespread uncertainty among medical professionals, the complaint argues. “As Plaintiffs’ experiences show, because of the laws’ uncertainty, physicians are over-complying with the laws to the detriment of their patients’ lives and health.”
Despite repeated requests, the state has failed to provide clarification or guidance about the exceptions for emergent medical conditions, according to the complaint.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to create a binding interpretation of the medical exceptions that “permits physicians to provide a pregnant person with abortion care when the physician determines, in their good faith judgment and in consultation with the pregnant person, that the pregnant person has a physical emergent medical condition that poses a risk of death or a risk to their health (including their fertility).”
The complaint is Zurawski v. State of Texas, No. D-1-GN-23-000968 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Travis Cty. Mar. 6, 2023).