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Texas Supreme Court hears arguments to clarify abortion ban
Austin, Texas — A lawyer representing 20 women and two doctors argued before the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday that women have been denied lifesaving care under the state’s strict abortion law as they seek to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception.
“We are just seeking clarification on what the law aims to do,” said Molly Duane, a lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the lawsuit.
Five women who were denied abortions under the state filed the lawsuit in March, and they were later joined by 17 other plaintiffs, including two doctors. The lawsuit, which was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, is believed to be the first to be brought by women who were denied abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
Unlike other legal challenges to abortion laws, this case does not seek to overturn Texas’ ban but rather to clarify what qualifies as a medical exemption. But Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby said the job of the court is to “decide cases,” and not to “elaborate and expand laws in order to make them easier to understand or enforce.”
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Beth Klusmann, a lawyer for the state, argued Tuesday that the women did not have the standing to sue, suggesting that the women should have instead sued their doctors for medical malpractice.
Duane argued on Tuesday that because the law is unclear, the women were denied lifesaving care, and that the state’s interpretation means that “women would need to have blood or amniotic fluid dripping down their leg before they can come to court.”
Earlier this year, a judge in Austin ruled that women who experience pregnancy complications are exempt from the state’s abortion ban. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the ruling, bringing the legal challenge to the state Supreme Court.
In August, Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum placed an injunction on the law, ruling that the plaintiffs faced “an imminent threat of irreparable harm under Texas’s abortion bans. This injunction is necessary to preserve Plaintiffs’ legal right to obtain or provide abortion care in Texas in connection with emergent medical conditions under the medical exception and the Texas Constitution.”
The injunction was put on hold when Paxton appealed.
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A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.