Courts, doctors, and patients all are asking the Texas Medical Board to clarify when a threat to the life of the mother creates an exception to Texas laws that ban abortions.
The TMB has both the authority and the duty to the public and Texas physicians to make rules. Doctors and patients are suffering because our state’s laws are vague and the punishments for violating them are severe. Making clear rules will save lives and futures.
The TMB should adopt rules that clarify the following:
1. When a medical emergency authorizes a physician to perform an abortion that would otherwise be prohibited.
2. How physicians can ensure their medical judgments meet the standard for “reasonable medical judgment” required for a medical emergency exception.
3. What level of detail and legally sufficient evidence must be present to substantiate a claim that an abortion was not protected by a medical emergency exception.