Texas Supreme Court Denies Woman’s Emergency Abortion Appeal
TL/DR –
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Texas woman, sought a legal medical exemption for an abortion after being informed that her baby suffered from trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder that often results in stillbirth or early infant death. After Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled that Cox could terminate her pregnancy, the Texas Supreme Court temporarily paused this decision, leading Cox to leave the state to seek the procedure elsewhere. The case, Cox v. Texas, is the first since the overturning of Roe v. Wade to be filed on behalf of a pregnant person seeking emergency abortion care.
Austin, Texas—Texas Woman Leaves State Following Abortion Ban Halt
A Texas woman, who sought a legal medical exemption for an abortion, has left the state after the Texas Supreme Court temporarily paused a lower court’s approval, says the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble had ruled that Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Dallas mom, could terminate her pregnancy due to her baby’s likely trisomy 18 diagnosis. However, following the Judge’s ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned of legal consequences if an abortion were performed.
The Texas Supreme Court put Gamble’s ruling on hold, which was later dismissed and overturned after Cox left the state.
The state Supreme Court stated Cox’s doctor should have determined whether her case met the exception to the abortion ban, i.e., whether her life or a major bodily function was threatened by her pregnancy. They found the lower court had granted Cox the abortion exception, despite the lack of a “good faith belief” from her doctor.
According to court documents, Cox’s doctors had warned her that due to her pregnancy and past caesarean sections, she faced “severe complications” potentially threatening her life and future fertility. The lawsuit argues that Texas’ strict abortion restrictions forced Cox to either wait until fetal death inside her or complete her pregnancy, leading to a third C-section.
The case comes as the state Supreme Court considers whether the abortion ban is too restrictive for women with severe pregnancy complications. An Austin judge had ruled that women with extreme complications could be exempt, but this is on hold pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
In court, the state’s lawyers proposed that a woman receiving a fatal fetal diagnosis could bring a “lawsuit in that specific circumstance.” Cox v. Texas is the first case since the overturning of Roe v. Wade to be filed on behalf of a pregnant person seeking emergency abortion care.
Last week, a Kentucky woman, 8 weeks pregnant, filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s two abortion bans.
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