Physicians and women in Idaho, Oklahoma and Tennessee are filing lawsuits against their respective states over abortion bans, saying they were denied the procedure despite dangerous pregnancy complications, ABC News reported Sept. 12.
Four women, two physicians and abortion providers in Idaho are filing suit against the state, governor and Idaho Board of Medicine, claiming the ban has "sown confusion, fear and chaos among the medical community, resulting in grave harms to pregnant patients whose health and safety hang in the balance across the state," according to the lawsuit.
Three women, two physicians and abortion providers in Tennessee are suing the state, attorney general and Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, saying they were denied "necessary and potentially lifesaving medical care" due to the ban, according to the lawsuit.
In Oklahoma, the Center for Reproductive Rights has filed a complaint with HHS that accuses Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Children's Hospital of denying an abortion to a woman with a "dangerous" and "nonviable" pregnancy. The complaint was filed Sept. 12 on behalf of Jaci Statton, a 26-year-old Oklahoma resident who was diagnosed with a partial molar pregnancy, a rare complication in which the embryo has too many chromosomes for a pregnancy to continue correctly and can present life-threatening complications if left untreated.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, HHS sent guidance to hospitals specifying that "stabilizing treatment could include medical and/or surgical interventions, including abortion," and that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act preempts state law where abortion is prohibited.