Center’s “Emergency Medical” Exceptions Case Heads to Texas Supreme Court November 28

Update: The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in this case this morning. Watch the video replay of the arguments here and watch for more information coming soon.

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The Center for Reproductive Rights’ case on behalf of Texas women denied abortion care continues on Tuesday, November 28, with oral arguments before the Texas Supreme Court.

In the case, Zurawski v. State of Texas, the Center is representing 20 Texas women denied abortion care despite facing severe and dangerous pregnancy complications that threatened their health and lives, and two Texas obstetrician-gynecologists.

The case was filed in March asking the court to give doctors clarity on what circumstances qualify as “medical emergency” exceptions in the state’s abortion bans and to allow doctors to use their own medical judgment without fear of prosecution. The lawsuit argues that the Texas state constitution protects the right to obtain an abortion when facing life- or health-threatening conditions.

Lower Court Ruling in Favor of Plaintiffs Appealed by State of Texas

Ruling in favor of the women denied abortion care and the OB-GYN plaintiffs, in August a Texas district judge issued an injunction blocking Texas’s abortion bans as they apply to dangerous pregnancy complications and clarifying that doctors can use their own medical judgment to determine when to provide abortion care in emergency situations. The judge also recognized that the women who brought the case should have been given abortion care.

The state immediately appealed the ruling to the Texas Supreme Court, blocking it from taking effect and leaving the bans in place.

Arguments at the Texas Supreme Court on November 28 will be livestreamed on the Court’s YouTube site. Arguments are expected to start sometime after 9:40 a.m. CT/10:40 a.m. ET (after arguments in an earlier case are completed). (Watch the video replay here.)

Read more about the case: Zurawski v. State of Texas