AUSTIN, Texas — The two Texas attorneys who filed a petition with the Texas Medical Board earlier this week to clarify when abortions are allowed under the medical exception want more people to get involved.
“We need to get this process started,” said attorney Steve Bresnen of BresnenAssociates. “We cannot wait any longer. We can't wait until the end of all the litigation."
In December, 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 Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Medical Board could provide more clarity regarding medical exceptions for abortions.
However, the Texas Medical Board said it didn’t feel it was appropriate for it to make any decisions at the time with other abortion-related cases still pending.
That decision sparked two Texas attorneys, Steve and Amy Bresnen, to call out the Texas Medical Board. In a petition filed on Tuesday, the duo wrote that it was the board’s duty to clarify.
“Pregnant females in life-threatening situations and the health care providers otherwise willing to save lives simply cannot be required to stand idly in the void when the TMB has the authority to act,” the petition said.
The attorneys also hope that more people and doctors join their efforts.
"We're doing this because we have the wherewithal and experience to do it, and we would like to see some other people, some other groups, weigh in,” Steve Bresnen said. “They don't have to sign on to our rule, but they should at least come out and say, ‘Yeah, there should be rulemaking.’”
The Texas Medical Board has a full 60 days to either initiate rulemaking or give a written explanation as to why it won’t. The board has said they are currently reviewing the petition.