A Texas judge ruled that the state’s abortion ban is too restrictive for women with serious pregnancy complications and must include some exceptions for doctors to avoid criminal charges, marking the first decision countering the state’s law since it was implemented last year.
State District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled in favor of a group of women who sued the state over the lack of medical exemptions in the state’s law, arguing the ban would force doctors to delay abortion care that “would prevent or alleviate a risk of death or risk to their health … for fear of liability under Texas’s abortion bans.” The temporary injunction prohibits the ban from being enforced in emergency situations during which doctors must perform the procedure to save the mother’s life.
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“For the first time in a long time, I cried for joy when I heard the news,” Amanda Zurawsk, the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. “This is exactly why we did this. This is why we put ourselves through the pain and the trauma over and over again to share our experiences and the harms caused by these awful laws.”
The injunction would also apply to cases in which the mother has a health condition “exacerbated by pregnancy” and cannot be effectively treated during their term, creating a risk of infection or unsafe conditions. The ruling would also cover instances in which the child has a health condition making it unlikely to survive after birth.
The ruling was met with an immediate appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, with the state’s attorney general office arguing the current law already allows for exceptions to allow doctors to avoid legal repercussions.
Texas implemented the abortion ban shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, ending nationwide access to the procedure and leaving the question of legality to the individual states. The state law makes it a felony to perform an abortion, with some exceptions for a “life-threatening physical condition” or “a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”
The legal challenge does not necessarily seek to overturn that law, but rather the group of plaintiffs is seeking to enforce more clarity on which exceptions are allowed under the law.
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The challenge, filed in March, does not seek to repeal Texas’ abortion ban but instead aims to force more clarity on when exceptions are allowed under the law, which is one of the most restrictive in the United States.
Mangrum ruled the injunction would remain in place until the case is settled. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 25.
