Who:
Amanda Zurawski and a number of other Texas women affected by Texas’s abortion bans (the patient
plaintiffs) and two Texas physicians (the physician plaintiffs)
What:
… are seeking declaratory judgment about the scope of the “Emergent Medical Condition Exception” to
Texas’ abortion bans. The bans are:
- Tex. Health & Safety Code § 171.204 (prohibits abortion after about six weeks; was part of Texas
Senate Bill 8 in 2021); and - Tex. Health & Safety Code §170A.002 (prohibits abortion regardless of stage; known as the
“trigger ban” because it went into effect in 2022 after the overturning of Roe v. Wade).
They are also seeking an injunction that would prohibit Texas “from enforcing Texas’s abortion bans or
instituting disciplinary actions related to alleged violations of the abortion bans in a manner violating the
court’s judgment.”
When:
- On March 6, 2023, the original complaint was filed.
- On May 22, 2023, the amended complaint was filed – it added more plaintiffs to the case and
added a request for a temporary injunction while the case proceeds. - On July 19-20, 2023, a hearing was held. Plaintiffs testified about the traumatic consequences of
Texas’s abortion bans. - On August 4, 2023, the judge ordered a temporary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs.
- Later that day, Texas (the defendant) appealed.
- The case is set for trial on March 25, 2024.
Where:
District Court of Travis County, Texas
Why it’s important:
- This case is in the headlines because, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, it is “the
first lawsuit brought on behalf of women denied abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court
eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and cleared the way for states to ban it entirely.” - Remember, the Texas state legislature passed the laws that are at issue in this case. Texas
voters, this is one reminder of why it is so important to vote in your state elections.
For more information on the case, see the excellent coverage by the Center for Reproductive Rights here.