Women, doctors announce legal action against abortion bans in 3 states

Women in Idaho, Oklahoma and Tennessee filed legal actions against their states over abortion bans, saying they were denied abortions despite having dangerous pregnancy complications.

Four women in Idaho -- Jennifer Adkins, Jillaine St.Michel, Kayla Smith and Rebecca Vincen-Brown -- and abortion providers filed a suit against the state, Gov. Brad Little, attorney general and the state's board of medicine, claiming the state's ban has "sown confusion, fear and chaos among the medical community, resulting in grave harms to pregnant patients whose health and safety hang in the balance across the state," according to a copy of the lawsuit shared with ABC News.

Three women in Tennessee -- Nicole Blackmon, Allyson Phillips and Kaitlyn Dulon -- and abortion providers filed a suit against the state, attorney general and the state board of medical examiners, claiming they and others were denied "necessary and potentially life-saving medical care" because physicians "fear the penalties imposed by that ban," according to the lawsuit.

Jaci Statton filed an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services against a hospital in Oklahoma, claiming she was not provided with an abortion that was a "necessary stabilizing treatment" for her partial molar pregnancy. Statton said she was not provided care when she went to two Oklahoma University Health System facilities and she was told she had to be actively crashing or on the verge of a heart attack before doctors could intervene, according to the complaint.

"They've each been through unthinkable trauma. And today, they are holding their states, their state governments accountable for the suffering that their laws have caused," Nancy Northup, CEO of the CRR, said at a press conference Tuesday.

The new lawsuits come months after five women -- represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights -- announced a lawsuit in Texas challenging the state's abortion bans, saying the law puts their lives in danger. More women later joined the suit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 15.

"The Supreme Court's unwarranted reversal of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs case last year has resulted in a Health care crisis in states across the nation in those states that have banned abortion -- 14 of them -- including the three states against which we were taking action today -- Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho," Northup said.

The new wave of lawsuits and the Texas challenge stand out from previous challenges to abortion bans that were largely filed by OB-GYNs and abortion providers after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, removing federal protections for abortion rights.

In a preliminary injunction hearing in the Texas case, a judge ruled in favor of the women, partially blocking the ban for medical emergencies and fatal fetal diagnoses. The decision was then appealed by the state, putting the injunction on hold for now.

"Today's legal actions seek to ensure that pregnant people with severe pregnancy complications can access abortion care in their home state, and that doctors are given clarity on what situations qualify under the 'medical emergency' exceptions in their state's abortion bans," the Center for Reproductive Rights announced in a statement Tuesday.

"Doctors who violate the bans risk years in prison, hefty fines, and loss of licensure, and have thus been fearful to provide abortion care in many life-threatening circumstances," the CRR said.

Idaho lawsuit lead plaintiff

Jennifer Adkins, a 31-year-old mother from Idaho, was at a routine 12-week ultrasound when the scan revealed the fetus had excess fluid and skin edema -- signs of cystic hygroma. She then learned that her fetus likely had Turner syndrome -- a rare condition that results in one of the X chromosomes missing.

Adkins' doctor told her the fetus would not survive and she was surprised Adkins hadn't miscarried already. Adkins was also told that there was a high likelihood that she would develop Mirror syndrome, a condition where the pregnant person develops edema and preeclampsia, which can result in stroke or death. Adkins was told that if the laws in Idaho were different, she would have just been referred to an abortion clinic, but now they were not even sure if they could refer her to a clinic out of the state.

"Even with my Health and life at risk, I would not be able to terminate my pregnancy in Idaho," Adkins said Tuesday at a press conference.

Adkins began calling clinics in neighboring states.

"We aren't rich and we aren't poor. We knew that we, with all the added travel and medical costs, we would not be able to make our mortgage payment, and we were so grateful for the assistance from family, friends and two abortion funds," Adkins said.

"I only wish I had been able to grieve the loss of my baby at home without all of this added heartache," she added.

Idaho has a six-week ban in place modeled after Texas' abortion law, prohibiting the procedure before most women know they're pregnant.

Little also signed an "abortion trafficking" bill into law in April, criminalizing helping minors travel out of state to receive care.

Dr. Emily Corrigan, an OB-GYN and the head of Idaho's American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, who is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she has seen patients being denied care due to the ban.

"Of the 16 years I have worked in this field, this past one has been by far the most difficult because of the laws that Idaho state Legislature has passed," Corrigan said at the press conference.

"Now, there is still widespread confusion in the medical community in Idaho about in which circumstances abortion care is legal. Even one year later, I regularly see patients that have been denied emergency medical care at other hospitals in this state. Similar to Jaci [Statton's] story," Corrigan said.

Corrigan said it has become an impossible situation for patients and physicians.

"It's become too much for many of my colleagues and they have decided to leave. I have hope that the legislature will improve the law. That's why I'm still here, but I have to ask myself every single day if it's worth it to stay here," Corrigan said.