Emergency rule imprecisely defined
Judge eases Texas abortion ban
08/05/2023, 4:25 p.m
Texas’ abortion law, which only allows abortions in medical emergencies, is one of the strictest in the United States. But the exceptions are not clearly defined, and doctors often do not dare to intervene in time for fear of prosecution. Now a judge reacts.
A Texas court ruled that doctors shouldn’t be prosecuted for assessing an emergency abortion. A group of women and doctors had filed a lawsuit against the abortion ban in Texas. They argued that medical exceptions were not clearly defined, creating uncertainty among doctors. A judge agreed with this assessment in her written judgment.
In the ruling, Judge Jessica Mangrum wrote that women “have been delayed or denied access to abortion care because of widespread uncertainty about physician discretion regarding medical exceptions to Texas’ abortion bans.” She said doctors shouldn’t be prosecuted for their assessment of an emergency.
The judge ordered a restraining order. Doctors should therefore be able to judge for themselves whether “a woman’s life and/or health (including fertility)” is at risk. The injunction will remain in effect until the lawsuit is resolved. The process is scheduled to begin in March. However, the injunction could be blocked prematurely if the state appeals.
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights. It argues that Texas law does not clearly define medical exceptions for abortions. This is confusing for doctors and triggers a “health crisis”.
The doctor is not allowed to intervene because the heart is still beating
Several plaintiffs testified in the Austin court last month. Amanda Zurawski, after whom the case is named, said she was denied an abortion even though the water broke very early in the pregnancy. This made a miscarriage inevitable.
According to Zurawski, her doctor said she “couldn’t intervene because the baby’s heart was still beating and inducing labor would have been considered an illegal abortion.” Zurawski went into life-threatening septic shock and the fetus was stillborn.
The lawsuit is the first filed on behalf of women who have been denied an abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion just over a year ago. Under Texas law, doctors who perform an abortion face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and their medical license revoked.