At its March 22 meeting the Texas Medical Board, which regulates medicine in the state, will discuss exceptions to anti-abortion laws.
After Roe vs. Wade was overturned, Texas's near-total ban on abortion took effect. Only rare cases are allowed. Doctors argue the exception wording has been too vague. Healthcare advocates, anti-abortion advocates, and even the law's author have asked the medical board to give doctors guidelines on what is an exception.
According to a meeting agenda online, the board will consider "possible action on rules regarding exceptions to the ban on abortions." NBC 5 requested a comment and information from the board and has not yet heard back.
Texas law bans abortions unless a doctor uses their "reasonable medical judgment" that the life of the mother is at risk or the pregnancy poses "a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function."
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Amy and Steve Bresnan work as Austin lobbyists and filed a petition to the board early this year. In the wake of the Kate Cox legal fight, they felt they needed to use their skills in understanding state government to help clarify the law in Texas.
"I can tell you that I have friends that are embarking on having children, that are about to get married. They’re in their early thirties. They have expressed anxiety. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to go forward with this," said Amy Bresnen.
Earlier, Kate Cox left the state to have an abortion after her doctors said her health and fertility were at risk if she went through with the pregnancy. She took her case to the Texas Supreme Court, which rejected her request, kicking it back to her doctors to decide whether an abortion was necessary.
Lone Star Politics
Covering politics throughout the state of Texas.
Her doctors, along with many across the state, feared deciding because it opened them up to life in prison or a civil lawsuit after Texas passed a strict anti-abortion law.
“You' 've got flesh and blood people out there, patients, physicians. These are real people. These are the most important decisions they’re ever going to make. If the government just gets them tied up in this circularity, that’s not the way the government should work," said Steve Bresnen.
The author of many of the state's anti-abortion laws also has called on the medical board to clarify what is allowed. State Senator Bryan Hughes, R - Mineola, spoke with NBC affiliate KXAN earlier on the issue.
Several anti-abortion advocates have echoed the senator's call.
"These other organizations usually connect the dots from the law to practice," Dr. John Seago, President of Texas Right to Life, told Lone Star Politics last year, "Unfortunately because of maybe the sensitivity of this issue or the political nature of it, we haven’t seen that and that has really caused some confusion.”
"Every medical provider should know, if a woman has a life-threatening condition, she must be treated. Texas law does not - does not - stand in the way of that," said Sen. Hughes.
In their petition, the Bresnens give ideas for the board to exempt from abortion restrictions such as pre-eclampsia, sepsis, hemorrhaging, liver disease, and mirror syndrome. In a letter the Bresnens provided NBC 5, staff for the Medical Board wrote they would consider their proposed language and also other languages.
Going forward the board can publish a rule in the Texas Register followed usually by thirty days of public comment. After those steps, the board can publish a final rule which then doctors can use while making decisions.
The Texas Medical Board can strip a doctor's license if they violate Texas law. In the Cox ruling, the Texas Supreme Court also mentioned the Board can create guidelines for doctors to follow on this issue.
