Five women who were denied abortions despite the risk to their lives are suing Texas

Five women are suing the state of Texas after they were denied an abortion despite the risks to their lives and their unborn children, as doctors say they fear repercussions even in the rare circumstances where they are legally allowed to discontinue. the pregnancies.

Texas, like most states since the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, allows exceptions when a doctor determines there is a risk of “substantial” harm to the mother or in cases of rape, incest or if the fetus is fatally diagnosed.

Two of the recently affected women plan to tell their stories on the steps of the Texas Capitol in the hope that their harrowing experiences will strengthen the “catastrophic damages” they faced, the New York Times informed.

The women who filed the lawsuit contradict the stereotype of people who typically abort: some married, already with children, and those who had to make the difficult decision to terminate due to the risks to their lives.

The lawsuit claims the women were at risk of life-threatening bleeding or infection and that some doctors refused to suggest options or send medical records to other providers.

The lawsuit does not seek to overturn abortion laws, but rather to confirm that Texas law allows doctors to offer abortions when necessary and “when the pregnancy is unlikely to result in the birth of a live, life-sustained child.”

Amanda Zurawski was told she was not ‘sick enough’ to receive an abortion, went septic twice, and was left with a fallopian tube that closed permanently when she was denied medical intervention.

“You don’t think you’re someone who’s going to need an abortion, let alone an abortion to save my life,” Zurawski, 35, told the outlet.

“If someone reads my story, I don’t care where you are on the political spectrum, very few people would agree that there is anything pro-life about this.”

Zurawski became pregnant in early 2022 after 18 months of fertility treatments.

In her 17th week of pregnancy, a scan found that her cervical membranes had begun to prolapse, and specialists told her that her fetus would not survive.

Doctors said they could only perform an abortion if she became “seriously ill” or her unborn child’s heart stopped.

Zurawski’s water broke but she did not go into labor. Without amniotic fluid, the fetus would die, but she still had a heartbeat, so they sent her home.

She and her husband considered driving to Mexico, but were told to stay 20 minutes from the hospital in case she went into labor and feared prosecution.

Zurawski’s health deteriorated rapidly, but it wasn’t until she had to be rushed to the emergency room with a blood infection that doctors finally induced labor.

She developed a secondary infection and received a blood transfusion to stabilize her.

“Every ultrasound is going to be scary, not just scary, but traumatic,” he said.

‘The last time I heard a heartbeat inside me, I was wishing it would stop.’

Lauren Miller, 35, another plaintiff, had to sneak out of state to Colorado to get an abortion.

Miller was taken to the hospital with severe nausea and vomiting and discovered that she had been pregnant with twins at six weeks.

At 12 weeks, the mother-to-be discovered that one of her unborn children had a genetic defect called trisomy 18, which included a malformed brain and an incomplete abdominal wall and heart.

A specialist told her that she needed an out-of-state abortion to save her life and the other twin’s.

Zurawski became pregnant in early 2022 after 18 months of fertility treatments. Her health deteriorated rapidly, but it wasn’t until she had to be rushed to the emergency room with a blood infection that doctors finally induced labor.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is one of the defendants in the lawsuit along with the state medical board and its director; last year they sued the Biden administration for guidance to perform abortions if necessary.

“The feeling of packing up was almost like we were running away from Texas, which was such a strange feeling,” he said.

‘I’m from Texas, I have generations of Texans here, we’re running from Texas.’

Laruen Hall was 18 weeks pregnant when it was revealed that her fetus had no skull and an underdeveloped brain. She was also urged to leave the state to seek an abortion.

Hall, 28, said many of her relatives and neighbors considered themselves “pro-life” and that if a fetus had a fatal condition, it was a “legal loophole” for people seeking an abortion.

“Many of them support this ban, but they don’t understand the magnitude of it,” he said.

“They had a very limited idea of ​​what someone looking for an abortion is like. They think it’s someone on the loose, who doesn’t want to take contraceptives.

Anti-abortion groups have argued that restrictions on abortions should not harm women’s health and that the laws only prevent what these groups call “elective” abortions that are intended to end an unwanted pregnancy.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is one of the defendants in the lawsuit along with the state medical board and its director; last year they sued the Biden administration for guidance to perform abortions if necessary.

“We are not going to allow the left-wing bureaucrats in Washington to turn our hospitals and emergency rooms into walk-in abortion clinics,” Paxton said at the time.

A memo sent to the outlet from Paxton’s office said abortions will not be performed unless there is a “life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from pregnancy.”

“Now that the Supreme Court has finally struck down Roe, I will do everything in my power to protect mothers, families and unborn children, and to uphold state laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature.”

The lawsuit does not seek to strike down abortion laws, but rather to confirm that Texas law allows physicians to offer abortions when necessary and “where the pregnancy is unlikely to result in the birth of a life-sustained live child.”

The women have not sued the doctors who denied them medical intervention, saying many were doing the best they could under the circumstances.

Medical abortion has been a lifeline for women in blue states and even red states since the Supreme Court struck down the federal guarantee for an abortion.

The Texas Medical Association has also called for more clarity, with the lawsuit claiming that the five women “represent just the tip of the iceberg” and that “millions” across the country have been denied “dignified treatment as equal human beings.”

Most abortions are now banned in 13 states, as laws restricting the procedure take effect following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Georgia also prohibits abortion around six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

In many states, the fight for abortion access is still taking place in the courts, where advocates have filed lawsuits to block the enforcement of laws restricting the procedure. Other states have moved to expand abortion access by adding legal protections.

As of last week, the nation’s second-largest retail pharmacy will not sell mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug, even in states where abortion is still legal.

It comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and anti-abortion activists to not carry the drug. Mifepristone makes up half of the combination used to induce a medical abortion.

Walgreens responded to a letter sent last month by nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general threatening legal action against the company if it stockpiled the drugs.

The chain said it would not distribute abortion pills either through the mail or in brick-and-mortar stores in those states. In some of the affected states, such as Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana, the use of abortion pills remains legal.