The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night put on hold a judge’s ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis, throwing into limbo an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S.
Quick Read
- Texas Supreme Court’s Intervention: The Texas Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court’s ruling that allowed an abortion for Kate Cox, whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis, challenging Texas’ restrictive abortion ban.
- Background of the Case: Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother from Dallas, was granted a temporary restraining order by a lower court judge against the Texas abortion ban, but the state Supreme Court has now stayed that ruling.
- Attorneys’ Concerns: Cox’s legal team, represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, expressed concerns that any delay in the court’s final decision could effectively deny justice.
- Cox’s Medical Situation: Cox, 20 weeks pregnant, is facing a high-risk pregnancy with a fetus diagnosed with trisomy 18. Due to her medical history, including two prior cesarean sections, both continuation of the pregnancy and potential labor induce significant health risks.
- Texas AG’s Stance: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Cox does not qualify for a medical exception under the state’s abortion ban and urged quick action from the Supreme Court.
- Pressure on Houston Hospitals: Paxton warned three Houston hospitals of legal repercussions if they performed the abortion, despite the lower court’s ruling.
- Kentucky Lawsuit: Parallel to Cox’s case, a pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion, challenging the state’s ban. This lawsuit seeks class-action status for others in similar situations.
- Cox’s Case Significance: Cox’s lawsuit is believed to be the first of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, challenging state-level restrictive abortion laws.
The Associated Press has the story:
Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocks woman from emergency abortion
Newslooks- AUSTIN, Texas (AP)
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night put on hold a judge’s ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis, throwing into limbo an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S.
The order by the all-Republican court came more than 30 hours after Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, received a temporary restraining order from a lower court judge that prevents Texas from enforcing the state’s ban in her case.
In a one-page order, the court said it was temporarily staying Thursday’s ruling “without regard to the merits.” The case is still pending.
“While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state’s request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied,” said Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Cox.
Cox’s attorneys have said they will not share her abortion plans, citing concerns for her safety. In a filing with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, her attorneys indicated she was still pregnant.
Cox was 20 weeks pregnant this week when she filed what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned Roe v. Wade. The order issued Thursday only applied to Cox and no other pregnant Texas women.
Cox learned she was pregnant for a third time in August and was told weeks later that her baby was at a high risk for a condition known as trisomy 18, which has a very high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates, according to her lawsuit.
Furthermore, doctors have told Cox that if the baby’s heartbeat were to stop, inducing labor would carry a risk of a uterine rupture because of her two prior cesareans sections, and that another C-section at full term would would endanger her ability to carry another child.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Cox does not meet the criteria for a medical exception to the state’s abortion ban, and he urged the state’s highest court to act swiftly.
“Future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the life that is lost if Plaintiffs or their agents proceed to perform and procure an abortion in violation of Texas law,” Paxton’s office told the court.
He also warned three hospitals in Houston that they could face legal consequences if they allowed Cox’s physician to provide the abortion, despite the ruling from state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who Paxton called an “activist” judge.
On Friday, a pregnant Kentucky woman also filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is about eight weeks pregnant and she wants to have an abortion in Kentucky but cannot legally do so because of the state’s ban, the suit said.
Unlike Cox’s lawsuit, the Kentucky challenge seeks class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and want to have an abortion.
