A wave of legal challenges has emerged in the United States as more women confront restrictive abortion laws implemented in Republican-led states following last year's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. In Idaho and Tennessee, eight women have turned to state courts seeking temporary halts on their respective state's abortion laws. These women faced severe pregnancy complications endangering their lives and were denied access to the procedure they deemed necessary.
These lawsuits have garnered the support of four physicians who argue that state laws are unfairly compelling medical professionals to weigh the health of their patients against potential legal liabilities.
In Oklahoma, a woman has filed a federal lawsuit, contending that she was denied an abortion despite U.S. legislation requiring doctors to perform the procedure when medically necessary.
Representing the plaintiffs in these lawsuits is the Center for Reproductive Rights. Earlier this year, they filed a similar lawsuit in Texas, serving as a model for legal challenges against state anti-abortion laws that lack exceptions for maternal health or fatal fetal anomalies.
While a judge recently ruled that the Texas ban was excessively restrictive, the injunction has since been halted as the case undergoes appeals to the Texas Supreme Court.
Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, emphasized that the Texas lawsuit merely scratched the surface of a more extensive issue.
Notably, none of the lawsuits filed on Tuesday aim to overturn state abortion bans. Instead, in Idaho and Tennessee, plaintiffs argue that these bans infringe on pregnant patients' right to life, as guaranteed by state constitutions. They request state courts to clarify the circumstances that warrant legal abortion, including fatal diagnoses. In Oklahoma, the complaint seeks a declaration that federal law supersedes Oklahoma's abortion ban.
State attorneys general in Idaho and Tennessee, named as defendants in these cases, as well as OU Health, the hospital mentioned in the Oklahoma complaint, did not respond to requests for comment.
These legal challenges provide deeply personal testimonies from women denied abortion services and physicians grappling with the consequences of state abortion bans. For instance, in Tennessee, Nicole Blackmon, who had a fetus with severe health issues, was denied an abortion, resulting in a stillborn birth. Similarly, in Idaho, Jennifer Adkins, who faced a rare fetal condition, was forced to travel out of state for an abortion.
Dr. Emily Corrigan, involved in the Idaho lawsuit, expressed her daily struggle to determine the care she can legally provide to pregnant patients, given Idaho's strict abortion laws. She noted the criminal penalties imposed on healthcare professionals who perform abortions in Idaho.
Jaci Statton, the plaintiff in Oklahoma, shared her near-death experience during a nonviable pregnancy, which raised questions about the adequacy of state laws in handling medical emergencies. She filed her complaint following the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directive that hospitals must provide abortion services in cases where the mother's life is at risk, citing the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
In response, Texas sued the federal government, asserting that the DHHS guidance was unlawful and that federal law does not encompass abortions, a case that is still pending.
