Women who say they were denied timely treatment for emergency pregnancy conditions have filed federal complaints against two Texas hospitals.
Kyleigh Thurman and Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz say Ascension Seton Williamson and Texas Health Arlington, respectively, broke federal law by refusing to terminate their ectopic pregnancies.
In complaints filed Tuesday by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Thurman and Norris-De La Cruz accuse the hospitals of violating the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), under which hospitals must provide treatment to stabilize patients with medical emergencies.
In 2022, the Biden administration issued guidance saying that under the law, hospitals must provide an abortion if one is needed to treat a pregnant patient with an emergency condition. Texas was among the states that challenged that guidance, saying it amounted to an illegal abortion mandate. The Supreme Court held off on deciding the core merits of one such challenge out of Idaho earlier this year. In the Texas case, the guidance is currently on hold while the challenge is pending.
Ectopic pregnancies — which occur when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, typically in a fallopian tube — are allowed to be terminated under Texas’ near-total abortion ban. These pregnancies are nonviable and are life-threatening if not treated early.
But Thurman’s and Norris-De La Cruz’s complaints allege many doctors remain hesitant to terminate ectopic pregnancies in a timely manner because of the strict penalties under Texas’ abortion ban: Doctors can incur steep fines and jail time and lose their medical licenses if they are found to perform an illegal abortion.
“In cases of ectopic pregnancies, doctors are so afraid of being prosecuted that they are delaying care in order to do additional, excessive testing to ensure that their medical judgment will not be second-guessed by state officials," Center for Reproductive Rights representatives said in a news release. "This could cost someone their life in an ectopic situation, where every minute counts."
“For weeks, I was in and out of emergency rooms trying to get the abortion that I needed to save my future fertility and life."Kyleigh Thurman
According to her complaint, Thurman first visited an emergency room in Burnet — a rural town outside Austin — in February 2023 on her OBGYN’s instruction. She was experiencing cramping, dizziness and continuous bleeding, all signs of an ectopic pregnancy.
After emergency room tests showed an ectopic pregnancy was likely, Thurman’s OBGYN recommended the medication methotrexate to end the pregnancy. Thurman drove an hour to Ascension Seton Williamson, a larger hospital that would stock the medication. According to Thurman’s complaint, the hospital conducted scans and other testing that indicated an ectopic pregnancy, but sent her home. The hospital provided Thurman with methotrexate only after her OBGYN intervened.
But the treatment came too late, according to Thurman’s lawyers. The ectopic pregnancy ruptured several days later, and doctors at Ascension Seton Williamson had to remove one of her fallopian tubes in order to save her life.
Thurman and her lawyers argue her life was put at risk unnecessarily, and that her future fertility was damaged by the hospital’s delay.
“For weeks, I was in and out of emergency rooms trying to get the abortion that I needed to save my future fertility and life," Thurman said in a statement. "This should have been an open and shut case. Yet, I was left completely in the dark without any information or options for the care I deserved."
Representatives for Ascension Seton Williamson declined to comment on Thurman’s complaint, but said Ascension “is committed to providing high-quality care to all who seek our services."
In her complaint, Norris-De La Cruz likewise said she lost most of a fallopian tube and most of an ovary during a delayed surgery to treat an ectopic pregnancy. She reported having to find another OBGYN who would treat her after a specialist at Texas Health Arlington refused to perform surgery.
Texas Health Arlington did not respond to KUT’s request for comment before publication.
Molly Duane, senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said she is asking the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services to investigate the complaints independently, without involving the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
“It's painfully clear that the Texas health department and the Texas Medical Board are not on the side of patients who need emergency care when that care is an abortion,” Duane told KUT. “We just don't trust that the state of Texas will be able to conduct that type of investigation in a way that truly protects patients.”
