A pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. has left the state to obtain the procedure, her attorneys say.
The announcement came as 31-year-old Kate Cox was awaiting a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court over whether she could legally obtain an abortion under narrow exceptions to the state’s restrictive bans.
The Texas Supreme Court issued a stay late Friday after an Austin judge issued a temporary restraining order the day before, allowing Cox to get an abortion in Texas. A judge gave Cox permission last week but that decision was put on hold by the state’s all-Republican high court.
“This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people—they are not doctors. This is the result of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade: women are forced to beg for urgent healthcare in court. Kate’s case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant people, and exceptions don’t work. She desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence.”
Cox was believed to be the first woman in the U.S. to ask a court for permission for an abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. Her lawsuit quickly became a high-profile test of bans in Texas and a dozen other GOP-controlled states, where abortion is prohibited at nearly all stages of pregnancy.
In the wake of the decision, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a warning to hospitals, saying the TRO would not insulate them from civil or criminal liability.
Doctors have told Cox that her fetus is 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 the lawsuit. They also told Cox that inducing labor or carrying the baby to term could jeopardize her ability to have another child in the future.
Days after Cox filed her lawsuit, a pregnant woman in Kentucky last week also asked a court to allow an abortion. There has been no ruling yet in that case.
