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What constitutes an "emergency" abortion?
They had argued that the language was too broad for physicians to use it to intervene, forcing some women to proceed with risky pregnancies.
The case was the most significant challenge to the state's abortion bans since they took effect in 2022, with more than a dozen women joining the original five plaintiffs to recount harrowing stories of being denied medical care even as their pregnancies became dangerous.
"The law does not require that a woman's death be imminent or that she first suffer physical impairment," the justices wrote in a unanimous decision. "Rather, Texas law permits a physician to address the risk that a life-threatening condition poses before a woman suffers the consequences of that risk."
The opinion from the all-Republican bench, penned by Justice Jane Bland, reiterates a December opinion in a similar case in which the high court denied permission for an abortion to Kate Cox, a Dallas woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a typically fatal condition.
In both cases, the court said the problem isn't with the law but the doctors who decline to intervene when the patient's life or health is at risk.
Molly Duane, senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the plaintiffs, said the Supreme Court provided "at best a feeble answer" to a question that patients and doctors have been asking the state for years about when a patient is sick enough to be eligible for an abortion.
"I don't know how all of this will actually function in practice," Duane said. "It is something, but the fact that true exceptions do not exist in practice will continue to be the norm."
 | Edward McKinley, state government reporter |
Who's up, who's down
If you've wondered lately, "Why is it raining so much?" You are not alone.
Down: Unusual water flow.
After some shadiness relating to emergency contracts for water leak repairs at the Houston's Public Works Department, the former manager of the department's water operation has been arrested for allegedly taking bribes from vendors and funneling city dollars to herself through a shell company.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Staff Photographer
We are now one year into the state's takeover of Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas. The situation has divided the community, so we went to them with a question directly: How's it going?
What else I'm reading
Texas Monthly: YouTube's "Tío" Will Teach You How to Make Your Favorite South Texas Dishes
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