5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger – By Sarah McCammon (NPR) / Mar 7, 2023
AUSTIN — Five women who were denied abortions under Texas law while facing medical crises are suing the state, asking a judge to clarify exceptions to the laws.
“[The women] have been denied necessary and potentially life-saving obstetrical care because medical professionals throughout the state fear liability under Texas’s abortion bans,” says the lawsuit, filed in state court by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the five women and two doctors.
“Just because Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land does not mean that women and pregnant people are without constitutional and basic human rights,” says Molly Duane, senior staff attorney with the center. “We’re talking about people who are in medical emergencies, who need urgent medical care and whose physicians are too scared to provide that care because of the state’s laws and because of the state’s failure to provide any clarification around what its law means.”
The suit names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a plaintiff. His office responded Tuesday by saying Paxton “will continue to defend and enforce the laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature” and by forwarding a “guidance letter” on the state ban triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
CONTINUE > https://www.npr.org/2023/03/07/1161486096/abortion-texas-lawsuit-women-sue-dobbs
