A Tennessee court order offered some clarity on medical exceptions in the state’s abortion ban, but critics say the ruling highlights how little lawmakers and legal experts understand pregnancy complications.
The order says doctors can’t lose their medical licenses for performing abortions in four specific situations — like if the patient’s water breaks before the fetus can survive on its own. All of the conditions hinge on the pregnancy not being viable.
Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, a Nashville physician who advocates for abortion rights, said the ruling was a small victory because it did offer some clarity, but the conditions list was very limited. The ruling highlights what she sees as an ongoing problem.
“We still have politicians and lawyers and judges making health care decisions when those decisions should be in the hands of patients and doctors,” she said.
Before the abortion ban took effect, Tennessee’s Planned Parenthood chapter was serving patients in life-threatening situations, said CEO Ashley Coffield.
“We had patients who were receiving chemotherapy for cancer,” she said. “The pregnancies were fine, but the chemotherapy would have damaged the fetus. And they wanted to continue with the chemotherapy so that they could live and be there for their families and their other children. Those kinds of medical emergencies are not named in the lawsuit.”
It would be impossible to list every potential medical condition that would lead to a patient needing abortion care. Coffield says that’s why it’s inevitable some patients will be left unprotected.
“The issues that people face are so complicated that they cannot be legislated or named by a judge,” she said.
Last year, a group of patients and doctors filed a lawsuit, challenging the state’s abortion ban. They argued that the portion explaining medical exceptions is too vague, leaving doctors so afraid of prison time, they refuse care even when it would be legal. Plaintiffs included seven women who were denied medically necessary abortions in the state after the ban went into place. The case had a hearing in April, and a three-judge panel issued an initial order last week.
Judges “enjoined” parts of the law, which means they said the state has to stop enforcing parts of the law. They said they don’t have the jurisdiction to block law enforcement agencies and the attorney general from prosecuting doctors who perform abortions, but that they do have the power to prevent the state’s medical board from revoking licenses as a punishment for performing abortions.
The order protects doctors when the patient’s water breaks before the fetus is able to survive outside the womb and when the patient goes into labor too early. The other two conditions — risk of infection that will result in uterine rupture or fertility loss, as well as complications like chronic, dangerously high blood pressure — only apply if the fetus has gotten a terminal diagnosis.
Nicole Blackmon was one of the seven patient plaintiffs who shared her story in the lawsuit. She said in a written statement that she was grateful the court heard and understood how painful it was for her to carry a non-viable pregnancy to term against her will and against her doctor’s advice.
“I risked my own life and went through unimaginable emotional turmoil being forced to give birth to a stillborn baby that never had a chance of sustained life,” she said. “I feel a renewed sense of determination to stand up for our cause and fight for what’s right in the courtroom. I will continue to advocate for justice — not only for ourselves, but for all Tennesseans.”
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