What does the Texas Supreme Court ruling on emergency abortions mean for patients?

“Monday’s ruling from the Texas Supreme Court denying a woman’s request for an emergency abortion shines a spotlight on the medical exceptions contained in many U.S. states’ abortion bans. Here are some of the most important facts about the case, and what it could mean:

WHAT IS TEXAS’ MEDICAL EXCEPTION?

Texas has banned nearly all abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court last June overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. Texas’ ban includes an exception allowing the procedure if, in a doctor’s “reasonable medical judgment,” the mother has a “life-threatening condition” related to the pregnancy that puts her at risk of death or “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”….”