The Center for Reproductive Rights filed lawsuits on behalf of eight patients and four OB-GYNs in three states: Idaho, Tennessee and Oklahoma. The plaintiffs argue abortion bans led to doctors refusing to provide the procedure even in emergency situations, over fears of prosecution and other penalties. One of the patients, Nicole Blackmon, was forced to carry out her pregnancy after doctors in Tennessee refused to provide an abortion, even though there was no chance the fetus would survive. She went on to suffer from preeclampsia, which can be fatal, and delivered a stillborn seven months into the pregnancy. Nancy Northup, head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said, “No one should have to be at death’s door to receive essential health care, but that is exactly what happens when doctors are forced to practice medicine under threat of imprisonment. … The women standing up today survived, but it is only a matter of time before someone does not.”