Texas hospitals are putting pregnant patients at risk by denying care out of fear of abortion laws, medical group says

Protesters chant on Congress Avenue in Austin at an abortion rights rally on June 24 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. A medical group says some Texas hospitals have been denying or delaying care to pregnant patients over fears of violating statewide abortion restrictions. (Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)

The Texas Medical Association is asking state regulators to step in after it says several hospitals afraid of violating the state’s abortion ban have turned away pregnant patients or delayed care leading to complications, The Dallas Morning News reported.

In a letter to the Texas Medical Board — the state agency that regulates the practice of medicine — TMA officials on Wednesday said they have received complaints that hospital administrators and their legal teams are stopping doctors from providing medically appropriate care to patients with some pregnancy complications. They ask the board to “swiftly act to prevent any wrongful intrusion into the practice of medicine.”