The Texas Supreme Court is now temporarily blocking a 31-year-old woman from having an abortion. This development follows a lower court granting an emergency order that allowed her to have the abortion.
Kate Cox said her baby has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, also called Edwards’ syndrome. This genetic condition often ends in miscarriage or still birth.
The state’s Supreme Court contends that is not a reason for an abortion, arguing Cox’s doctors have failed to show how the birth of the baby would threaten the mother’s life.
Abortion law in Texas allows for an exemption if the mother’s life is in jeopardy. Cox’s doctors say going through with the birth could jeopardize her health.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) argues that is different from her life being at risk, saying her doctors failed to show Cox is at risk of death by following through with the pregnancy.
Paxton also added that “it appears there was no second opinion from another doctor at the hospital.”
Cox is currently 20 weeks pregnant and already a mother to two children. She said she wants to continue growing her family, but — according to Cox’s lawsuit — her doctors told her having this baby could jeopardize her future fertility and, under the best circumstances, the baby would live for a week at most.
I do not want to continue until my baby dies in my belly or I have to deliver a stillborn baby or one where life will be measured in hours of days, full of medical tubes and machinery.
Kate Cox
“I do not want to continue until my baby dies in my belly or I have to deliver a stillborn baby or one where life will be measured in hours of days, full of medical tubes and machinery,” Cox said. “I desperately want the chance to try for another baby and want to access the medical care now that gives me the best chance at another baby.”
According to a Minnesota Department of Health report tracking Edwards’ syndrome, “There is no known cause of Trisomy 18. Studies have shown that only 50% of babies who are carried to term will be born alive. The median of survival among live births has varied between 2.5 and 14.5 days. About 90% – 95% of babies do not survive beyond the first year.”
Political leaders are reacting to news of the Texas Supreme Court blocking the abortion until further review, blaming “MAGA” and former President Donald Trump.
“MAGA Republicans in Texas and throughout the country are risking the lives of mothers,” House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, posted on X.
“This story is shocking, it’s horrifying, and it’s heartbreaking,” Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said. “It’s also becoming all too commonplace in America because of Donald Trump.”
The Texas Supreme Court’s decision did not give any timetable on when the court may offer its final ruling. As things stand, if an abortion is performed, the State of Texas will prosecute.
