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Kate Cox (undated photo)
Photo: AFP
In a major abortion lawsuit in the U.S. state of Texas, a court has allowed a woman to have an abortion. Kate Cox had sued against the restrictive abortion ban in Texas and won on Thursday in a court in Austin. The court issued a restraining order and allowed her to have an abortion.
The woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, had learned last week that her fetus has the chromosomal disorder trisomy 18. "All of her doctors have told her that her baby is going to be stillborn or only going to live for minutes, hours or days," Cox's lawyer said at the online emergency hearing in court. The pregnancy also poses great health risks and for the prospects of the mother of two to have more children. However, she was denied an abortion in view of the extensive abortion ban in Texas.
After the U.S. Supreme Court repealed the nationwide fundamental right to abortion, which has been in force since 1973, in June 2022, Texas – like many other conservative states – adopted a very strict abortion law. It prohibits abortion even in cases of incest and rape and only allows it when the woman's life and health are in danger. Critics, however, argue that the exceptions are so vaguely worded that doctors often do not perform abortions for fear of lawsuits.
The judge was clear when she announced her decision. "Now a patient has to be on the verge of death before a doctor can invoke the exception. This attitude is not only cruel and dangerous, but also violates the Texas Constitution, medical ethics and the laws themselves," US media quoted Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, a Democrat, as saying. The idea that the plaintiff wanted to be a mother again, but that Texas laws could cause her to lose that ability, was "shocking and would be a real miscarriage of justice."
Texas' Attorney General Threatens Doctors
Kate Cox is believed to be the first woman in the U.S. to request an emergency abortion in court since the nationwide legalization of abortion was repealed, according to the nongovernmental organization Center for Reproductive Rights.
It is expected that Texas will appeal the decision. The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, has already threatened doctors who may perform abortions. "The injunction does not protect you or anyone else from civil and criminal liability," he wrote. Paxton also harshly criticized the judge for her decision, accusing her of acting like an "activist."
Abortion rights are one of the most controversial socio-political issues in the United States. The Supreme Court's ruling in June 2022 had therefore triggered a political earthquake. In their highly controversial decision, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had enshrined a nationwide fundamental right to abortion.
max/AFP/dpa