Texas abortion denial lawsuit overview:
- Who: A group of five women denied abortions while facing medical crises filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas.
- Why: The women argue medical professionals in Texas are hesitant to help women have abortions due to “uncertainty surrounding the meaning of exception” to the state’s abortion bans.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in the district court of Travis County, Texas.
A group of five women filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, its attorney general, the Texas Medical Board and its executive director after they say they were denied abortion access by the state despite allegedly being in medical crises.
The women, in a petition filed in state court on their behalf by the Center for Reproductive Rights, argue for declaratory judgment and an application for a permanent injunction due to “uncertainty surrounding the meaning of the exception to Texas’s abortion bans.”
“With the threat of losing their medical licenses, fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars,and up to 99 years in prison lingering over their heads, it is no wonder that doctors and hospitals are turning patients away,” the Texas abortion lawsuit states.
The women argue they were denied “necessary and potentially life-saving care obstetrical care” by medical professionals in the state who they argue feared suffering liability on account of Texas abortion bans.
One of the women claims she was forced to wait to receive abortion care until she became septic and that one of her fallopian tubes is now permanently closed as a result of the alleged delay in care.
Women denied medically necessary abortions due to unclear exception policies, lawsuit claims
Another woman argues she was forced to travel out of state for an abortion after discovering that one of her twins was not viable, while a second claims she was forced to travel to Seattle to receive an abortion after being given a “devastating fetal diagnosis,” according to the Texas abortion lawsuit.
The Texas abortion laws went into effect following the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed a constitutional right to have an abortion.
In other abortion news, an abortion rights group filed a class action lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other local district attorneys last year, seeking an injunction that would allow it to continue funding out-of-state abortions.
Do you believe Texas abortion bans are unclear about who can receive an exception? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Austin Kaplan of Kaplan Law Firm PLLC; Molly Duane, Nicolas Kabat and Marc Hearron of the Center for Reproductive Rights; and Jamie A. Levitt, J. Alexander Lawrence and Aditya V. Kamdar of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
The Texas abortion denial lawsuit is Zurawski, et al. v. State of Texas, et al., Case No. D-1-GN-23-000968, in the district court of Travis County, Texas.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
