Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to state’s abortion law over medical exceptions

Austin, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected a challenge to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the US after a lawsuit from women with serious pregnancy complications.

The ruling by the court, whose nine justices are all elected Republicans, is the latest decision to uphold Texas’ abortion ban, which critics say does not provide enough clarity about when exceptions are allowed.

“Texas law permits life-saving abortion,” the court wrote in the order signed by Republican Judge Jane Bland.

Last summer, state District Judge Jessica Mangrum had issued a temporary injunction that prevented Texas from enforcing the ban against doctors who in their “good faith” terminated a pregnancy that they determined was unsafe due to complications. But that was immediately blocked by an appeal from the Texas attorney general’s office to the state Supreme Court.

The lawsuit filed in March 2023 did not seek to repeal Texas’ abortion ban, but instead aimed to force more clarity on when exceptions are allowed.

It argued that the law’s exceptions, which allow an abortion to save a mother’s life or prevent impairment of a major bodily function, are written too vaguely and create confusion among doctors, who treat some pregnant women with health complications because they feared consequences.

Prosecutors said the abortion ban has made medical professionals wary of being held liable if the state does not consider the situation a medical emergency.

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Stengle reported from Dallas.