Women denied abortions in Texas ask court to clarify medical exceptions to state's ban

For the first time since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Texas women who were denied abortions described in court Wednesday how they were unable to end their pregnancies despite serious risks to their health or carried babies they knew would not survive.

Their testimony was often emotional, and at one point, the judge called a recess after one woman whose child died shortly after being born was overcome while recounting the catastrophic end to her pregnancy.

The women are believed to be the first in the U.S. who have sued over being denied an abortion since Roe was overturned last year. Their challenge in Texas does not seek to repeal the state's ban but to force more clarity on when exceptions are allowed under the law, which is one of the most restrictive in the U.S.

Samantha Casiano testified she was halfway through her pregnancy when she found out during an appointment that her daughter had a rare diagnosis of anencephaly, where much of the skull and brain is missing. Doctors told her they could not provide her an abortion in Texas, and when a caseworker was called into the room, Casiano was handed funeral home information.

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"I felt like I was abandoned," Casiano said. "I had this funeral home paper and this is just supposed to be a scan day."

Although Texas' ban narrowly allows exceptions when the patient's life is in danger, opponents say the the law is so vaguely worded that doctors remain afraid to perform abortions even under those circumstances.

Texas doctors who perform abortions risk life in prison and fines of up to $100,000, leaving many women with providers who are unwilling to even discuss terminating a pregnancy.

Amy Pletscher, an assistant Texas attorney general, defended the law as written and called fears of prosecution baseless.

Those bringing the lawsuit "simply do not like Texas' restrictions on abortion," Pletscher said. "The purpose of this court is not to legislate."

The proceedings were expected to continue through Thursday. It is not clear how quickly state District Judge Jessica Mangrum will rule on the women's request for an injunction.

Sixteen states, including Texas, do not allow abortions when a fatal fetal anomaly is detected, while six do not allow exceptions for the mother's health, according to an analysis by KFF, a health research organization.

The lawsuit in Texas comes as abortion restrictions elsewhere in the U.S. continue to face challenges. On Monday, an Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state's new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law.

The majority of U.S. adults, including those living in states with the strictest limits on abortion, want it to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy, according to a poll released in late June by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.