AUSTIN, April 11, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A court hearing was held today to certify a class action lawsuit by women injured by abortion against the State of Texas, State Department of Health, and the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel. Women who have been injured by abortion in Texas filed suit against the state for failing to enforce existing abortion facility regulations to protect the health of women seeking abortions. A hearing will be held on whether the class action can proceed. The plaintiffs are women who sought and received abortions in Texas and received a variety of physical and emotional injuries, including ruptured uterus, sterility, severe guilt and depression. The suit alleges that the state of Texas: fails to require abortion providers to give enough information for informed consent; fails to adequately investigate unlicensed abortion facilities; fails to adequately inspect and examine licensed facilities; fails to cooperate with other state agencies attempting to prosecute illegal activity in abortion facilities; fails to prevent the unauthorized practice of medicine by unlicensed individuals in abortion facilities; and fails to require abortion clinics to report child abuse which resulted in pregnancy. The Texas Justice Foundation President, Allan Parker, stated: “Instead of protecting women, the State wants to protect itself by having this lawsuit dismissed.” Several of the women were injured by abortions performed in abortion clinics by non-licensed personnel, including non-doctors. One of the plaintiffs is the mother of a minor child who was under medical care for depression, but who obtained an abortion without her parents’ consent resulting in a significant increase in the child’s mental illness, including required hospitalization.