AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Medical Board plans to make rules surrounding medical exceptions to the state's abortion ban.
In January, two attorneys – Amy and Steve Bresnan – had asked the medical board for clarification on when exactly an abortion would be permitted under state law. In Texas, abortions are banned unless a woman's life is in danger or she is at risk of losing a major bodily function.
But there has been confusion within the medical community about exactly when doctors can make the call to perform an abortion.
"It's an effort to give guidance to physicians and patients as to what constitutes reasonable medical judgment," Steve Bresnan said.
"I think clarification is not only the right thing to do, but it's the pro-life thing to do," Amy Bresnan said.
The attorneys' request came after the Texas Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling in a lawsuit from Texas woman Kate Cox, who was seeking an abortion for medical purposes. The court ruled that the Texas Medical Board could provide more clarity regarding medical exceptions for abortions.
However, the medical board said at the time that it didn’t feel it was appropriate for it to make any decisions with other abortion-related cases still pending.
It's an ordeal Cox's attorney, Austin Kaplan, said could have been avoided.
"They're waiting until patients are ... you know, like at death's door," Kaplan said.
Kaplan also represents Amanda Zurawski. Zurawski is suing the state after she was denied an abortion.
Kaplan mentioned Zurawski's case, which currently has 22 plaintiffs, is one of the pending abortion-related cases.
"They are so extremely brave to tell this highly personal story, put their names on it, to empower people to act, to solve this big problem here," Zurawski said.
"We need Texas, as a state, to take meaningful action here so that pregnant women are no longer harmed. If the Texas Medical Board can and will do it, they should do it," Kaplan said.
Now the medical board has responded to the Bresnans' request for clarification from two months ago. The board said in a letter to the attorneys that it has "been considering rulemaking options since the statute went into effect and will proceed with rulemaking."
The board discussed the topic in a meeting on March 22. Watch below:
"As you know, this is only the first step in the rulemaking process," the board wrote. "TMB will consider all comments received and make any changes deemed necessary."
Kaplan stressed what the Texas Medical Board is considering is what attorneys and doctors have been asking for, for months.