The Big Bend region was left without any mammogram services after a longtime mobile screening program shut down in August, leaving local officials to look for an alternative source for breast cancer screenings.

Although Texas counties are not required to provide ambulance services, many are digging deep to pay for their own fleet or to contract out services.

The women had ectopic pregnancies, which are nonviable and life-threatening if not treated early. They say Ascension Seton Williamson and Texas Health Arlington violated federal law by not ending their pregnancies sooner.

Federal clinics in Texas are already required to get parental permission to prescribe birth control after a 2022 court ruling.