The Texas Court has barred a woman from having a previously court-authorized emergency abortion. The fetus has a severe chromosomal disorder – which also poses a danger to the pregnant woman.
The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily banned a pregnant woman from having an abortion in a high-profile case. According to US media reports, on Friday evening the Court suspended a first instance decision that had allowed 31-year-old Kate Cox to have an abortion because of risks to her health. The arch-conservative Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, went to court to prevent abortion.
Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant, learned last week that her fetus has the chromosomal disorder trisomy 18. “All of her doctors have told her that her baby will be born dead or will only live for minutes, hours or days,” Cox’s lawyer Molly Duane told the court at the online emergency hearing in the first instance. The pregnancy also poses major health risks for Cox and for the mother of two’s chances of having more children.
Strict Abortion laws since 2022
After the nationwide fundamental right to abortion, which has been in effect since 1973, was repealed by the US Supreme Court in June 2022, Texas – like many other conservative states – passed a very strict abortion law.
It prohibits abortions even in cases of incest and rape and only allows them if the woman’s life and health are in danger. However, doctors complain that the guidelines are not clear. They fear high penalties if they have an abortion that is not covered by the law.
Demolition had previously been permitted
According to the non-governmental organization Center for Reproductive Rights, Kate Cox was probably the first woman in the USA since the – now repealed – nationwide legalization of abortion in 1973 to request an emergency abortion in court. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the 31-year-old from the city of Dallas’ emergency request on Thursday. The Supreme Court of Texas has now suspended this decision until further notice.
Abortion rights are one of the most controversial sociopolitical issues in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2022 triggered a political earthquake. In their highly controversial decision, the constitutional judges had the fundamental ruling Roe v. Wade repealed the 1973 law that enshrined a nationwide right to abortion.