A judge in the American state of Texas has allowed a woman with a potentially life-threatening pregnancy to have an abortion. According to American media, this is one of the first cases in which an abortion has been requested since national abortion rights were abolished.
A 31-year-old woman who is now twenty weeks pregnant with her third child had filed a case because her fetus has a fatal condition. Her lawyer argued that an abortion was allowed under the medical exceptions included in Texas’ very strict abortion law.
The lawyer stated that the pregnancy poses health risks to the woman and her future fertility. The Texas attorney said the state alone would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” if the abortion were allowed. But the judge agreed to the request of the woman, who was represented in the lawsuit by her husband.
Access to abortion limited
Abortion is allowed in Texas in a very limited number of cases, such as when the mother’s health is at stake, but doctors find the wording of the legislation too unclear and fear legal consequences. An illegal abortion can be punished with a prison sentence of up to 99 years and a fine of up to 100,000 dollars (approximately 92,600 euros). Doctors can also lose their medical licenses.
The nationwide right to abortion in the United States was based on a ruling in the 1973 case ‘Roe v. Wade’. In June 2022, the ruling was struck down by the Supreme Court. Since then, several states have restricted abortion rights, meaning fewer women in the country have access to abortion.
LOOK. 1 in 5 Belgian women will have an abortion during their lifetime
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