Texas doctors 'really scared' amid vague abortion laws. Will state board clarify exceptions?

OB-GYNs in Texas have been on alert and on the defensive since Senate Bill 8 went into effect in September 2021, said Dr. Andrea Palmer, a Fort Worth OB-GYN. The bill bans abortions when cardiac activity can be detected in a fetus, typically around six weeks. The law lets a person sue someone who performs an abortion or aids in the performance of an abortion.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Texas’ “trigger” law went into effect, carrying criminal penalties and banning most abortions. A person who performs, induces, or attempts an abortion could face up to 20 years in prison if the abortion is unsuccessful and up to life if it is successful. They could also face a fine of at least $100,000 for each violation.

The laws are in addition to Texas’ pre-Roe abortion ban.

Texas law does not carve out exceptions for abortions cases of rape or incest.

“The way that SB 8 was written and the way that abortion has been criminalized in the state of Texas has us all, I think, really scared to do what we know is the right medical thing for patients, a lot,” Palmer said. “Right now, this exception of basically to save the life of the mother is very, very broad. The spectrum of when is somebody is dying is really a hard to pinpoint.”

The question of when a medical emergency allows for an abortion was central to the case involving Kate Cox, who ultimately traveled out of state to access the procedure.

Cox sued the state in December, asking for permission to have an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with with full trisomy 18, a disorder in which babies have three copies of chromosome 18 instead of two. Doctors told her that her baby would likely be stillborn or wouldn’t live long after birth.

Cox’s attorney argued that she fell within the exemptions to Texas’ abortion law. A state district judge ruled that she could get an abortion, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton still warned of possible repercussions.

The Texas Supreme Court was weighing the case soon after it was announced that Cox was leaving left the state to obtain the procedure. The court sided against Cox soon after. It was in that opinion that the court told the Texas Medical Board it could do more to clarify when an exception is allowed.

What clarifications should be made?

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