State laws, they say, are often vague and do not provide a common definition of what procedures and medications fall under the umbrella of life-saving care when it relates to reproductive health. State laws are often vague and may not clarify if, for example, they would apply to an abortion for mental health reasons or for pregnancy complications in earlier its stages.

Testifying at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing Tuesday, Leah M. Litman, assistant professor of law at University of Michigan Law School, testified that “broadly worded laws might potentially prohibit” practices once considered life-saving care…

Verma, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Georgia, said she has treated patients with pulmonary hypertension, which can increase the risk of death during pregnancy to 50 percent.

“But under these laws, if that person comes to me at six or seven weeks before they’ve got that chance to get treated, can I do their abortion or do I have to wait until they get sick?” she said. “That idea of having to wait for someone to get sick is just counterintuitive to what we are trained to do as physicians.”