“Normally most physicians want to intervene as soon as they diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, before it ruptures,” Braid said. But S.B. 8 leaves doctors wondering when they can legally take action, he said: “Do you have to wait until it’s about to rupture? Until it has?”
“How do you make that decision under this law? No one wants to get sued,” said Braid, who has been sued at least three times since he wrote the op-ed.
In early September, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) hotline, which coordinates abortion care, received a call from a patient with an ectopic pregnancy in a rural part of South Texas. Rachel Lachenauer, the hotline director, said the woman had no idea what to do: She had been turned away by her regular doctor, she said, who told her that S.B. 8 prevented them from terminating the pregnancy. The woman told Lachenauer the doctor was “nervous” about getting sued, Lachenauer recalled.
Lachenauer and another NAF staff member, who worked on her case and confirmed the story, told the patient to go to the closest emergency room right away. Shortly after that, Lachenauer said, the patient called back: When she called the hospital, she told NAF, they said she would have to seek care in another state.
“We’re pretty flabbergasted at this point,” Lachenauer said. “We are a remote call center. We can’t go and pick her up.” The whole time, Lachenauer said, she was consulting with NAF’s medical team, who said the patient was in immediate danger.
The patient ended up driving between 12 and 15 hours to a hospital in New Mexico, Lachenauer said, where she was able to terminate her pregnancy."
The Texas abortion ban has a medical exception. But some doctors worry it’s too narrow to use.
“How do you make that decision under this law? No one wants to get sued,” said Braid, who has been sued at least three times since he wrote the op-ed.
In early September, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) hotline, which coordinates abortion care, received a call from a patient with an ectopic pregnancy in a rural part of South Texas. Rachel Lachenauer, the hotline director, said the woman had no idea what to do: She had been turned away by her regular doctor, she said, who told her that S.B. 8 prevented them from terminating the pregnancy. The woman told Lachenauer the doctor was “nervous” about getting sued, Lachenauer recalled.
Lachenauer and another NAF staff member, who worked on her case and confirmed the story, told the patient to go to the closest emergency room right away. Shortly after that, Lachenauer said, the patient called back: When she called the hospital, she told NAF, they said she would have to seek care in another state.
“We’re pretty flabbergasted at this point,” Lachenauer said. “We are a remote call center. We can’t go and pick her up.” The whole time, Lachenauer said, she was consulting with NAF’s medical team, who said the patient was in immediate danger.
The patient ended up driving between 12 and 15 hours to a hospital in New Mexico, Lachenauer said, where she was able to terminate her pregnancy."
The Texas abortion ban has a medical exception. But some doctors worry it’s too narrow to use.