Women who were denied abortions despite serious risks to their health headed to court in Texas

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Women who sued Texas after saying they were denied abortions despite serious risks to their health are headed to court Wednesday as legal challenges to abortion bans across the U.S. continue a year after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

The Texas case is believed to be the first brought by women who were denied abortions since the right to an abortion in the U.S. was overturned, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing them.

The case before a Texas judge in Austin does not seek to reverse the state's abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the country. It instead asks the court for clarity on when exceptions are allowed in Texas, where the women say they were told they could not end their pregnancies even though their lives and health were in danger.

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One woman had to carry her baby, who was missing much of her skull, for months, knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Others had to travel out of state to receive medical care for pregnancy-related complications after doctors recommended an abortion.

Texas doctors who perform abortions risk life in prison and fines of up to $100,000, leaving many women with providers who are unwilling to even discuss terminating a pregnancy.

A woman protests a recent ruling by a Texas federal judge to override the FDA's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone on April 15, 2023. Texas women who sued the state after being denied abortions despite health risks are set to appear in court on July 17, 2023. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"Even if they provide an abortion that they believe complies with the bans' narrow exceptions, they still risk the laws being enforced against them," the plaintiffs argued in court filings this month.

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The Texas Attorney General's Office, which is defending the state's ban, has argued that the women lack standing to sue and pushed back on accounts by doctors who said they were confused over the law's wording.

Sixteen states, including Texas, do not allow abortions when a fatal fetal anomaly is detected, while six do not allow exceptions for the mother’s health, according to an analysis by KFF, a health research organization.

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The lawsuit in Texas comes as abortion restrictions elsewhere in the U.S. continue to face challenges. On Monday, an Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law.