Five women denied abortion care in Texas sue state over bans

Five women denied abortions in Texas, along with two doctors, have sued the state after they were refused abortion care despite suffering severe complications with their pregnancies.

The women named in the case encountered a range of different outcomes and treatment detailed in a 92-page complaint filed on Monday.

Zurawski nearly lost her life before doctors would intervene, the lawsuit claims, even though doctors long knew the pregnancy would not be viable. After becoming pregnant following 18 months of fertility treatments, Zurawski was diagnosed in her 17th week with a weakened cervix. While she was told there was no chance the fetus would survive, she was denied treatment in Texas until she had gone into septic shock, with a high fever, and delivered a stillbirth.

The other women traveled hundreds of miles out of state for abortions, sometimes risking going into septic shock on the plane, and traveling as far as Seattle and Colorado to receive care. During the press conference, one of the plaintiffs, Lauren Hall, detailed having to walk past protesters accusing her of killing her baby after traveling out of state for care for her unviable pregnancy.

In addition to Zurawski and Hall, the women bringing the case are Lauren Miller, Anna Zargarian and Ashley Brandt. They are joined by two doctors, Damla Karsan and Judy Levison, both obstetricians-gynaecologists with experience in providing abortions, who argue that their medical practice has been chilled by the bans.