For years now, Texas has banned virtually all abortions. There’s a medical exception to the ban — and the Texas Medical Board has been tasked with clarifying that exception.
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For years now, Texas has banned virtually all abortions. Docs who violate that legislation could face hundreds of {dollars} in fines, the lack of medical licenses and even life in jail. There’s a medical exception to the ban, and the Texas Medical Board needed to make clear that exception. However as NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin studies, in a vigorous public assembly yesterday, the board was advised repeatedly that their current effort missed the mark.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: The general public assembly was held just about. Texas Medical Board president Dr. Sherif Zaafran, an anesthesiologist primarily based in Houston, welcomed the commenters.
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SHERIF ZAAFRAN: I simply wish to guarantee you that you’ve got the undivided consideration of myself. There’s a few different board members on right here.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Over practically 5 hours, plenty of individuals commented, together with Texas docs, attorneys, activists and a number of other sufferers who confronted severe medical conditions after the ban took impact. A type of sufferers was Elizabeth Weller, who first advised her story to NPR in 2022. Her water broke too early for her being pregnant to outlive, however she needed to wait till she confirmed indicators of an infection earlier than she was given an abortion. She concluded her remarks with this.
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ELIZABETH WELLER: I hope that you could all fall asleep at night time and that you simply by no means have any blood in your fingers for the ladies which are going to should endure via this. I hope that your guidelines are clear. I hope nobody has to die due to this.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Many individuals commented that the principles did not reassure physicians that they will present an abortion with out having to attend for a affected person to get sicker and sicker. Zaafran pushed again. He mentioned the Board didn’t imply to indicate {that a} affected person must be at,quote, “dying’s door” earlier than a health care provider can intervene.
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ZAFRAAN: That is definitely nothing that we meant.
STEVE BRESNEN: It is what was not mentioned, Physician.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: That is commenter Steve Bresnen, an legal professional and lobbyist in Austin. He mentioned the purpose of those guidelines is to say in writing {that a} affected person would not should be imminently at risk of hurt.
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BRESNEN: That is the purpose. And in the event you fail to try this, you are not reaching something.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: That exact same level was echoed by Texas Proper To Life’s Miranda Willborg.
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MIRANDA WILLBORG: One essential means we wish to see the proposed rule strengthened is, as a number of individuals have already talked about, by clarifying the truth that imminence is just not required.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: For now, nothing adjustments with the Texas abortion ban. If the state’s medical board decides to start out over, the method might take months.
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR Information.
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