A Tennessee woman needed an abortion to save her life. She then joined a lawsuit against the state’s ban

Abortion rights activists protest after the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US supreme court, in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, in June 2022. Photograph: Seth Herald/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenAbortion rights activists protest after the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US supreme court, in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, in June 2022. Photograph: Seth Herald/AFP/Getty ImagesTennesseeA Tennessee woman needed an abortion to save her life. She then joined a lawsuit against the state’s banAfter she had to travel out of state to access care, Rachel Fulton joined the Center for Reproductive Rights’ suit, which an appeal has now halted indefinitelyMelody SchreiberMon 27 Apr 2026 13.28 EDTLast modified on Mon 27 Apr 2026 13.30 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleIt was the worst day of Rachel Fulton’s life. She stood outside her doctor’s office, reeling with the news that her dearly wanted pregnancy needed to end. But her day would, somehow, become even worse: Fulton lives in Tennessee, where abortion is banned except for very narrow threats to the patient’s life. She had to travel hours to another state to receive care from an unfamiliar doctor far from home.Fulton joined a lawsuit, along with five other patients, in 2023 against the state of Tennessee for violating their right to life. The American Medical Association and two doctors also joined the lawsuit because they say they have been prevented from providing the standard of care for their patients.The trial was set to begin on Monday, but a last-minute appeal halted the proceedings indefinitely.Pennsylvania court strikes down ban on use of Medicaid funds for abortionsRead moreThe case illustrates the way state-level abortion bans and restrictions are endangering women’s health, even in places where exceptions for patients’ lives are supposed to be in place, said Linda Goldstein, lead attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which helped bring the lawsuit.“An overwhelming majority of Americans want women to be able to get abortion care when their lives or health are threatened, and there are these exceptions written into the law that the politicians tout as doing that, but in fact, they don’t,” Goldstein said.When the Fultons learned they were expecting their second child, they were overjoyed. But a 12-week scan revealed a condition called cystic hygroma, in which fluid gathered where the heart should have been forming. They held out hope and began decorating the nursery with a Peanuts theme. They chose a name: Titus Claude.A follow-up exam at 16 weeks revealed that the condition was worsening, and the baby would not survive long after birth. Fulton’s life was also in danger, because she could develop mirror syndrome, a potentially deadly complication.“Nothing prepares you to hear that the baby that you want is incompatible with life,” Fulton said. “And not only that he’s incompatible with life, but that he is putting my life at risk. There’s nothing in the world that can prepare you for that, even if you know it might be coming.”Her mom reminded her that she had a little boy at home, a three-year-old son, who needed her. And Fulton thought about her paternal grandmother, who died in childbirth and left seven children behind. “I have seen what my aunts and uncles have gone through as a result of losing their mom when they were really young, and how it still affects them,” she said. “I didn’t want to do that to my son.”The maternal-fetal physician said she could go…

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