Texas is being sued by five women claiming they were denied abortions, despite grave health risks to their own lives and the health of their unborn children.
The women spoke Tuesday in Austin, on the steps of the state Capitol, saying the state’s ban against the medical procedure causes “catastrophic harms” on women. This lawsuit was filed on Monday. It is the first time pregnant women have taken legal action since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S Supreme Court in June.
The plaintiffs “have been denied necessary and potentially life-saving obstetrical care because medical professionals throughout the state fear liability under Texas’s abortion bans,” said the lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the five women and two doctors.
Lauren Miller, Dallas, said Tuesday that she had twins and was in the midst of pregnancy after a 12-week-long ultrasound revealed one foetus with a serious genetic disorder. She wouldn’t survive.
“Politicians in Texas are prohibiting health care that they don’t understand; they could do something but they’re not, and it’s killing us,” Miller said. “It shouldn’t be controversial for an individual to make health care decisions for themselves in consultation with their doctor.”
Miller stated that she was in Colorado to undergo the procedure. Miller said she is currently pregnant with her twin sister and will give birth later this month.
“As my medical providers tried to counsel me on my options, they would stop midsentence looking for the words. It was like they were afraid that they would be arrested just for saying the word ‘abortion’ out loud,” Miller said. “I’ll never forget when one specialist tore off his gloves and threw them in the trash. ‘I can’t help you anymore,’ he said, ‘You need to leave the state.'”
To get abortions, three other plaintiffs traveled from Texas. Another claimed that she was made to wait until she contracted sepsis (a fatal infection) before she could get an abortion in Texas.
The lawsuit asks the courts to clarify what circumstances are covered by “medical emergency” exceptions in the state’s abortion ban. The suit contends the current language is vague and contains “non-medical terminology.” The law has left Texas doctors unwilling to perform the procedure because they fear possible felony charges that could lead to a 99-year prison sentence, the lawsuit claims.
Texas became the first state in America to ban all abortions. Following the Supreme Court’s last summer decision, the law became effective.
The suit names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a defendant, along with the state medical board and its director.
Paxton said Tuesday he is “committed to doing everything in his power to protect mothers, families, and unborn children, and he will continue to defend and enforce the laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature.”