In a significant ruling on Friday, a Texas judge granted an exemption to women facing pregnancy complications from the state’s stringent abortion bans. Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum issued the injunction after a lawsuit was filed by thirteen women and two doctors seeking clarification on the exemptions in Texas’ abortion law. The ruling came two weeks after four of the plaintiffs testified about being denied abortion care, despite their fetuses suffering from severe and non-survivable medical conditions. The lawsuit, believed to be the first brought by women denied abortions after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
One of the plaintiffs, Samantha Casiano, shared her heartbreaking experience of being forced to carry a pregnancy to term despite doctors confirming her baby’s condition was 100% fatal. Due to Texas’ abortion laws, she felt she had no other options. The laws’ vague wording made doctors hesitant to provide abortions even in cases where the fetuses had no chance of survival. Judge Mangrum’s ruling clarified that physicians could provide abortion care to pregnant individuals in Texas when there is an emergent medical condition posing a risk to the patient’s life, health, or fertility, as permitted under the medical exception to Texas’ abortion bans.
Texas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, with SB8 banning most abortions after approximately six weeks of pregnancy, except when the mother’s life is in danger. Additionally, House Bill 1280, a “trigger law,” makes performing an abortion a felony after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. The case is likely to be appealed, even though Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defended the law, is currently suspended and awaiting a trial by the state Senate after being impeached.
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