The Texas Supreme Court recently rejected a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban over its medical exceptions. The court ruled against a group of women who had suffered serious pregnancy complications and were the first in the country to testify in court about being denied abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. In a unanimous ruling, the court upheld the Texas law after the women filed a lawsuit in March 2023 seeking clarity on when exceptions to the abortion ban are permitted, arguing that the law was confusing for doctors who might turn away patients out of fear of repercussions.
The court stated that the law’s exceptions are broad enough, and doctors would be misinterpreting the law if they chose not to perform an abortion when the mother’s life is in danger. The decision closed a potential pathway for opponents who have been trying to force the state to provide more clarity on when exceptions to abortions are allowed. Last year, plaintiffs in the lawsuit testified in court about carrying babies they knew would not survive and continuing pregnancies that put their health at risk. The Texas law has strict penalties for doctors who perform abortions, including risking life in prison, fines of up to $100,000, and potentially losing their medical licenses.
Last year, a lower court granted a temporary injunction preventing Texas from enforcing the ban against doctors who performed an abortion in good faith judgment after determining a pregnancy was unsafe due to medical complications. However, this ruling was immediately blocked after an appeal from the Texas attorney general’s office to the state’s Supreme Court. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Amanda Zurawski, was forced to wait until she was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of sepsis before obtaining an abortion. She spent three days in intensive care and was left with a permanently closed fallopian tube, affecting her ability to have more children.
The court ruled that state law does not require a woman’s death or serious impairment to be “imminent” for her to obtain an abortion. Amanda Zurawski expressed disappointment over the ruling, stating that every person deserves bodily autonomy and that people in Texas are being told they have no options, which she finds sickening and wrong. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the ruling after his office defended the law in this case. New guidelines proposed by the state medical board earlier this year did not provide much clarity beyond advising doctors to document their decision-making meticulously.
The lawsuit argued that exemptions under the Texas law, which allow an abortion to save a mother’s life or prevent the impairment of a major bodily function, led to confusion among doctors who feared potential liability if the state did not consider a case a medical emergency. The plaintiffs contended that the abortion ban has made doctors reluctant to perform abortions even in cases of health complications. The Republican-led state Legislature is not expected to make any changes to the law’s language, leaving many pregnant women and doctors in Texas feeling unsure and concerned about the state of abortion access in the state.
