(Reuters) -Five women who said they were denied abortions despite grave risk to their lives have sued the state of Texas, in the first apparent case of pregnant women suing over curbs imposed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.
The lawsuit filed on Monday asks a state court in Austin, the state’s capital, to clarify that doctors cannot be prosecuted for providing abortions, if in their good faith judgment the procedure is necessary to treat emergencies that threaten patients’ life or health.
Like most of the 13 U.S. states with near-total abortion bans, Texas allows exceptions when a doctor finds a medical emergency.
But the lawsuit, backed by the abortion rights group Center for Reproductive Rights, says Texas’ law is unclear, leading doctors to refuse to perform abortions even when exceptions should apply, for fear of losing their licenses and facing up to 99 years in prison.
Texas banned most abortions shortly after…
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