AUSTIN, Texas -- Some hospitals in Texas have reportedly refused to treat patients with major pregnancy complications for fear of violating the state's abortion ban, the Texas Medical Association said in a letter this week.
The association did not name the hospitals but said it's received complaints that hospitals, administrators and their attorneys may be prohibiting doctors from providing medically appropriate care in some situations, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Texas law bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. A total ban -- that includes exemptions if a woman's life or health is danger -- will take effect in the coming weeks after last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
The letter, sent Wednesday to the Texas Medical Board, cited several examples in which medical care was delayed.
In one case, a central Texas hospital reportedly told a physician not to treat an ectopic pregnancy until it ruptured, the letter said. An ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg attached outside of the uterus, is not viable.
"Delayed or prevented care in this scenario creates a substantial risk for the patient's future reproductive ability and poses serious risk to the patient's immediate physical wellbeing," the letter said.
The Texas Medical Board confirmed it received the letter but a spokesperson said the board cannot confirm or deny any specific complaints.
The Biden administration issued guidance this week that states hospitals must provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk.
CHALLENGING GUIDANCE
Days after the White House moved to ensure access to abortion in certain emergency situations, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the federal guidance, saying it would "force abortions" in hospitals in the state.
"President Biden is flagrantly disregarding the legislative and democratic process -- and flouting the Supreme Court's ruling before the ink is dry -- by having his appointed bureaucrats mandate that hospitals and emergency medicine physicians must perform abortions," Paxton wrote in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Texas.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded in a statement citing "yet another example of an extreme and radical Republican elected official."
Without naming Paxton, the statement read that it was "unthinkable that this public official would sue to block women from receiving lifesaving care in emergency rooms, a right protected under U.S. law."
The suit, which names U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra as its lead defendant, lands amid active discussion among doctors and hospital lawyers across states that have banned all or most abortions about when the procedure might be permitted in emergencies.
For Biden, the legal challenge highlights the pressure he is under from all sides after the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press and by J. David Goodman and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times.