Geoff: The Texas supreme court
today heard arguments in a case
brought by a group of 20 women
who say they've been denied
emergency care because of the
state's abortion laws, some of
the nation's most restrictive.
They argue that the medical
exceptions in the state's
abortion bans are too narrow to
protect patients who face
pregnancy complications.
The case marks the first time
patients denied abortions have
sued a state since roe was
overturned.
Taylor Edwards, who is one of
the plaintiffs, and Molly Duane,
their lead attorney, join us
now.
Thank you both for being with
us.
Taylor, tell us your story about
why you had to leave Texas and
go to Colorado to receive care.
Taylor: Thank you so much for
having me.
I guess I can start my story
back -- I went through a long
ivf journey to get pregnant in
the first place.
It was our third embryo transfer
that worked.
We were highly monitored
throughout the pregnancy and
everything was going really
smoothly until we got to our
anatomy scan.
At our anatomy scan we were
given a fatal diagnosis.
She was essentially never going
to live if she made it to birth.
Having to sit there with your
doctor and them tell you we
cannot help you, here is a
number to call, that is what we
were left with after that
appointment.
And so we had to call
out-of-state it we had to new
Mexico first.
We had an appointment with the
clinic and three hours before we
were supposed to board a plane
to New Mexico they canceled the
appointment due to a shortage of
medication and so we are left to
scramble.
I was 18 weeks pregnant and I
was worried I was going to be
too far along and was a whole
thing.
I tried to find another clinic
in New Mexico that was available
and there was none.
We had to rebook everything to
go to Colorado just to receive
medical care.
It took a feat to get through
all of that logistics, and
traveling is stressful enough
even when you are just going on
vacation.
Going through the most traumatic
experience of your life while
traveling is another layer.
Geoff: Did the doctor in Texas
explicitly say they could not
provide care because of the
state's abortion laws?
Taylor: Yes.
He said my hands are tied.
If this happened 1.5, I could
have provided you in abortion
here with your doctor.
Geoff: How common are the
stories?
Molly: Her story is horrible but
you not -- but not unique,
unfortunately.
This is happening daily in
places like Texas along with all
the other states.
13, 14 states in the U.S. Where
abortion is now banned.
While there are technically
medical exceptions on the books,
as Taylor's experience shows
they do not function in
practice.
Geoff: So what is the ultimate
goal with this lawsuit?
Molly: The goal is so that
people like Taylor will not have
to go through the extreme trauma
that she went through.
We have in this case, it began
with five women and it is now up
to 20 women which shows how
widespread the problem is in
Texas as well as other states
around the country.
And the goal is to help women
and to make sure that doctors
can actually provide medical
care just what an abortion is.
It is standard reproductive
medical care that women and
pregnant people routinely need
for any number of reasons.
And in some ways this lawsuit is
very small.
It is about being able to make
sure the medical exemption
functions in practice.
In other ways it is quite large
because Taylor and her
co-plaintiffs are showing an
unbelievable amount of bravery
and self-sacrifice to tell their
stories publicly so that the
public can understand abortion
is health care and what is
happening in states across the
country is unconscionable and
should not continue anymore.
Geoff: What are the penalties
for physicians who violate
Texas's abortion laws?
Molly: We are talking about life
in prison, loss of medical
license, and hundreds of
thousands of dollars in civil
fines.
So quite understandably
physicians are terrified.
They don't know when or how
close to death a patient needs
to be before they can provide
abortion care.
They have been begging the state
for guidance for years and it
has fallen on deaf ears.
So here we are.
Courts are places that can
vindicate constitutional rights.
Taylor has constitutional rights
just like everyone else in
Texas.
Geoff: The assistant ag in Texas
makes the point that the
problem, if there is one, lies
with the doctors.
Here is what she had to say.
>> A woman is bleeding or has
fluid running down her legs,
that woman would clearly qualify
for the exemption.
If she has to come to court to
make that happen is not the
state's fault.
Geoff: What is your response?
Molly: My response is the state
has been saying over and over
again the exemption is clear and
yet they have never once told us
what they think the exception
means.
In fact, contrary to what they
said today, they have made every
attempt to show the amniotic
fluid does need to be running
down a patient's leg before they
can come to court.
What Taylor said her doctor said
to her is verbatim what I have
heard from every single one of
my clients, which is my doctor
said that her hands were tied.
Who tied them?
The state of Texas.
Geoff: Taylor, how did you hear
about this lawsuit, and why did
you feel compelled to join it?
Taylor: As soon as we got home
from Colorado I contacted
multiple news agencies.
[Please stand by]
Geoff: How are you and your
husband doing now?
Taylor: We are hanging in there.
I am actually currently
pregnant.
Four months after we lost our
daughter.
So that has been a new
experience.
It has been tough.
Being pregnant in Texas is
really scary.
And I don't have any living
children, or I would not have
gone through this again, because
it is a really scary time to be
a pregnant person in Texas.
Taylor Edwards, thank you for
sharing your story with us, and
Molly Duane, thank you for your
time.
We appreciate it.
Molly: Thanks.
♪♪