Texas women share emotional testimony, seek clarification over exceptions to strict abortion law

For the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a court heard live testimony from women who were unable to end their pregnancies because of the state's strict law.

Several times, the women broke down in tears describing how they thought they were undergoing a medical emergency but their doctors suggested leaving the state for an abortion – fearing possible life in prison.

At one point, the judge called a recess after one woman whose child died shortly after being born was overcome while recounting the end of her pregnancy.

A few weeks after the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade, the state’s “trigger” law took effect. That, with penalties imposed by the Texas Heartbeat Act, raised the stakes for every abortion provider in the state.

State lawmakers, distrusting some local district attorneys who vowed to limit enforcement, allowed individuals to file civil lawsuits against abortion providers. Doctors may face up to life in prison or a $100,000 fine for providing a banned abortion.

Texas law allows the procedure for a medical “emergency.” Three Dallas area women – Lauren Miller, Ashley Brandt, and Kiersten Hogan, and a Dallas-based Dr. Austin Dennard, joined the lawsuit to argue the wording in the law was too vague. Doctors, fearing punishment, are discouraged from performing legal abortions because they don’t know where the line is.

They’re represented by lawyers from the Center for Reproductive Rights in their case against the state, Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Medical Board, and Stephen Brint Carlton, director of the medical board. The lawsuit wants the state to specify what a medical emergency is and wants the judge to put the law on hold with an injunction until the legal battle plays out.

One who took the stand Wednesday was Ashley Brandt, a mother who was excited about the prospect of having twins. She said her pregnancy took a turn at 12 weeks when an ultrasound showed one twin had a smaller skull than the other. One had a condition where the “fetus does not develop a skull” according to the lawsuit, putting her life and the other twin’s life in jeopardy.

She knew the stakes of the Texas law.

“I didn’t want anyone to get in trouble and I didn’t want to get in trouble,” Brandt told the court.

So she traveled to Colorado – like several other women in the lawsuit – to have an abortion safely performed. The other twin survived and is “thriving.” She fought back tears in the courtroom.

“Sorry. I would have to give birth to an identical version of my daughter without a skull and without a brain. I would have had to hold her until she died,” Brandt said.

The proceedings were expected to continue through Thursday. It is not clear how quickly State District Judge Jessica Mangrum will rule on the women's request for an injunction.

Amy Pletscher, an assistant Texas attorney general, defended the law as written in the courtroom and called fears of prosecution baseless.

Those bringing the lawsuit "simply do not like Texas' restrictions on abortion," Pletscher said. "The purpose of this court is not to legislate."

“Texas law is protecting every child, no matter the circumstances of their conception,” said Dr. John Seago, president of Texas Right to Life.

Seago’s organization advocated for the law in the Texas legislature. He told NBC 5 Wednesday he believes the definition of a “medical emergency” is clear but the law’s opponents are confusing doctors and the public.

“We understand doctors are confused but the response to that confusion is education, not impacting the law or changing the law,” Seago said.

Sixteen states, including Texas, do not allow abortions when a fetal anomaly is detected – hence the “Heartbeat Act.” Six states do not allow exceptions for the mother's health, according to an analysis by Kaiser Family Foundation, a health research organization.

The lawsuit in Texas comes as abortion restrictions elsewhere in the U.S. continue to face challenges. On Monday, an Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state's new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law.

The case is named after one of the women suing the state, Zurawski vs. the State of Texas. The losing side in district court will likely appeal the case in what many expect may reach the Texas Supreme Court.