AUSTIN, Texas (NewsNation) — Texas officials are asking the state Supreme Court on Monday to make the final call on when it’s appropriate for a doctor to perform an abortion in an emergency.
Right now, abortion is illegal in the state. The only exception is to save the life of the patient.
A district judge issued a ruling over the weekend that sought to clarify that exception, and the attorney general’s office blocked it within a matter of hours.
To be clear, this does not seek to overturn the abortion ban in Texas. It instead seeks to clarify when a doctor can lawfully intervene and provide an emergency abortion.
Some critics say the law is too vague, while others say it is very clear. But now, people are asking the state’s highest court to decide.
The debate over abortion access continues to play out in Texas.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights group, is suing on behalf of 15 women in Texas. Amanda Zurawski is one of those 15 women suing the state.
“I was dilating prematurely which leads to an inevitable miscarriage, but doctors weren’t able to provide an abortion because my baby’s heart was still beating and my life wasn’t considered at risk. We just had to wait for one of those to change. I went into septic shock,” Zurawski said.
Zurawski is one of several women who testified at a heading a few weeks ago, saying the ban put their lives at risk.
Under Texas law, an abortion can only be performed when a life-threatening physical condition places the patient at risk of death or serious risk of substantial impairment.
A doctor from Massachusetts testified a few weeks ago as an expert witness that the law is not clear.
“The laws as they are currently written, the medical exceptions are confusing,” Dr. Ali Raja said.
The judge clarified in her ruling that a physical emergent medical condition under the Texas abortion law must include a pregnancy with the risk of infection, or is otherwise unsafe for the patient’s health. It must also include a physical condition that is exacerbated by pregnancy and cannot be treated during that time or requires recurrent invasive intervention. And lastly, it must include a condition where the fetus is unlikely to survive.
Several hours later, the office of the attorney general blocked the ruling.
“Protecting the health of mothers and babies is of paramount importance to the people of Texas, a moral principle enshrined in the law which states that an abortion may be performed under limited circumstances. Texas pro-life laws are in full effect. This judge’s ruling is not,” the attorney general wrote in a statement.
Some groups, including the Texas Alliance for Life, agree that the law is clear for doctors.
“They can intervene immediately when that pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life and there’s no reason to wait. I do want to say to those mothers, my heart goes out to them. I want the best for them. I think of them often, and I can’t imagine the pain they went through but the law is clear,” Amy O’Donnell with the Texas Alliance for Life said.
She noted federal data shows no doctors have been prosecuted for providing abortions in compliance with the current Texas law.
A doctor could face life in prison and a fine of $100,000 if they act outside this law.