This story was originally published by The 19th.
Texas will continue enforcing bans on performing abortions even when pregnancies develop serious complications, following a decision issued Friday by the state Supreme Court.
The ruling means physicians must wait until patients are dangerously ill before terminating their pregnancies — in some cases resulting in otherwise preventable health complications. Under the law, learning that a fetus is unlikely to survive does not allow doctors to perform an abortion.
Under this case, known as Zurawski v. Texas, 20 women and two doctors sued the state of Texas, with many arguing that the state’s abortion laws endangered their lives. Some left the state for care. Others, including lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski, had to wait until they contracted sepsis, a life-threatening infection, before they could receive an abortion. Some have been told they may struggle to become pregnant again as a result of........