Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) announced that she will host Houston OB/GYN Dr. Damla Karsan as her guest at the State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7th.  A resident of Texas’ Seventh Congressional District, Dr. Karsan is an OB/GYN and one of two physician plaintiffs in Zurawski v. State of Texas, a case before the Texas Supreme Court brought forward by 22 women who were denied abortion care in the face of severe and dangerous pregnancy complications.  The case seeks to clarify the scope of Texas’ “medical emergency” exception under the state’s current abortion ban. 

“As a leader at the forefront of the fight for women’s reproductive rights and health in Texas, Dr. Karsan represents the best of our community,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “She has seen firsthand how our state’s draconian laws have put the health and well-being of women and their families at risk and how the criminalization of abortion has affected our OB/GYNs, preventing them from providing the care their patients need and deserve.  I am so glad that she will join me at President Biden’s State of the Union address as the President and members of Congress work to restore and protect the health, dignity, and freedom of women and families across our state and our country.”

Dr. Karsan founded Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare in Houston and has practiced medicine for more than 22 years.  In December 2023, a Texas state court granted Dr. Karsan permission to provide life-saving abortion care to Kate Cox without the threat of prosecution.  The Texas Supreme Court denied the lower court’s request, preventing Dr. Karsan from ultimately providing the care Ms. Cox needed, forcing her to travel out of state for the life-saving procedure.