Texas Medical Board adopts rules clarifying exceptions to state’s abortion ban
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AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Medical Board unanimously approved new rules Friday morning providing additional guidance for the circumstances in which doctors can perform emergency abortions legally in the state.
The new rules will require physicians to complete documentation explaining how and when they decided to perform an abortion, within 7 days after giving a patient an emergency abortion under the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. Notably, the board removed a controversial provision that required doctors to document if they tried to transfer a patient to another doctor or facility to avoid the abortion.
“If a woman’s life is in danger there is no uncertainty there,” said Texas Medical Board President Sherif Zaafran, M.D. “That is where action should happen quickly.”
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Texas was one of 13 states where abortion bans were automatically instated. Texas’ trigger law prohibits all abortions except under limited circumstances, such as a “life-threatening condition to the mother caused by the pregnancy.” Physicians who perform an abortion outside of these circumstances could be subject to a sentence of up to life in prison and at least a $100,000 fine for each offense.
Pressure around clarifying the law started growing after a group of women sued the state over its abortion law, saying they were denied abortion access in Texas, despite having pregnancy complications that risked their lives or the life of their baby.
In May in the same lawsuit, the Texas Supreme Court upheld that the medical exceptions in Texas’ abortion ban are sufficiently broad, and do not require doctors to allow their patients to approach death before intervening.
The TMB published new language in late March to clarify possible exceptions.
The proposal in March included a series of definitions for terms like “reasonable medical judgment,” “medical emergency,” and “major bodily function.” It also clarified that removing an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion.
In the previously published guidelines, the TMB says that an abortion may only be performed in compliance with all provisions of the Texas Health and Safety Code. The physician must also document that the abortion was performed due to a medical emergency where the woman faced a significant risk of severe impairment or death, providing evidence that abortion was the only viable option to preserve her life.
The Texas Medical Board consists of 12 physicians and seven members of the public who the governor appoints. One member is an OB-GYN.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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