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The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a court order allowing a Dallas woman to have an abortion. The ruling came hours after Kate Cox's lawyer announced she was leaving the state to terminate a non-viable pregnancy.
Last Tuesday, Cox, 31, After learning that her fetus had complete trisomy 18, a fatal fetal abnormality, she filed a landmark lawsuit asking a court to allow her to terminate the pregnancy. The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, alleges that continuing the pregnancy posed a threat to Cox's health and future fertility, but that the state's near-total ban on abortions led to doctors refusing to terminate the pregnancy. It is said that he refused.
Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled Thursday that neither Cox, her husband nor her obstetrician-gynecologist should face criminal or civil penalties for the abortion. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an emergency motion with the state Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. On Friday night, the high court put Guerra Gamble's order on hold while it considered the merits of the case.
But during that time, Cox's condition worsened and she was in and out of the emergency room, her lawyers said.
“This past week of legal stalemate has been hell for Kate,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.. “Her health is at risk…That's why judges and politicians shouldn't be making medical decisions for pregnant people. They're not doctors.”
Cox's attorney announced Monday afternoon that she left the state to get an abortion, but did not say when or where the abortion took place. The Reproductive Rights Center informed the Texas Supreme Court that even though Cox is no longer seeking an abortion in Texas, she intends to continue her lawsuit. Hours later, the court issued a ruling revoking the temporary restraining order.
“No one disputes that Ms. Cox's pregnancy was extremely complicated. It would be a shock for any parent to learn that their unborn child had been diagnosed with trisomy 18.” the judges wrote. “However, some difficulties during pregnancy, even serious ones, do not pose a high risk to the mother that the exception encompasses.”
In late November, the Texas Supreme Court also heard arguments in Zurawski v. Texas, in which 20 women argued that the state's abortion laws denied them medical care for complicated pregnancies. Both cases argue that reproductive rights centers should be allowed to exercise medical judgment to perform abortions if the doctor “in good faith” believes that the procedure is necessary. he claimed. The law states that doctors must instead use “reasonable medical judgment,” but lawyers for the center say this is a vague standard that doctors should not act on until a patient is close to death. He insists that he must wake up.
In Monday's ruling, the justices said the law “does not require doctors to wait until the mother is one step closer to death or until her disability is completely apparent or virtually irreversible.” Stated. This exception does not require a physician in a true emergency to wait to see another physician who may not be available. Rather, the exception assumes that the physician acts within the bounds of reasonable medical judgment, which is the physician's daily practice. ”
The ruling also calls on the Texas Medical Board to provide further guidance to physicians, similar to what the agency has done with its COVID-19 protocols and treatments, and calls on the Texas Medical Board to provide “various hypothetical It reminded them that they can “assess the situation, provide best practices and identify red lines.” Similar situation.
Cox's attorney noted in a statement that many women in Texas do not have the financial means to leave the state immediately. All but one of Texas' neighboring states have banned the procedure, and clinics in New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas are being flooded with Texans, leading to delays in treatment. ing. In October, the Texas Tribune published a story about a woman who carried a non-viable pregnancy to term because she couldn't afford to leave the state for an abortion.
