A Texas case shows that abortion ban exemptions are a sham

The Case for an Abortion Discrimination Indicator in the State of Texas Revised by a Corresponding Legal Expert Witness: Kate Cox

Nancy Northup, the president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that the legal limbo had been “hellish” for Kate. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer.” Cox is not giving interviews and the details about where she traveled for the abortion are not being disclosed to the public, notes the group.

According to the court documents, she had been in the emergency room three times with symptoms. She has since been to the emergency room at least one additional time, her lawyer said. Her doctors told her she was at high risk of developing gestational hypertension and diabetes. She also has two children already, and because she had had two prior cesarean sections, carrying the pregnancy to term could compromise her chances of having a third child in the future, the brief says.

Cox can have future children if she gets the procedure to preserve her ability, that was stated in the ruling by Judge Gamble. Blocking her from having the abortion would be “a miscarriage of justice,” Gamble said.

In open court in a previous case, an assistant attorney general for Texas suggested that doctors who delayed abortions for certain women who nearly died in complicated pregnancies were committing malpractice, and not applying the Texas abortion bans correctly.

There are multiple abortion bans in Texas. abortion is not permitted in the state from the moment a baby is conceived. Texas doctors are not permitted to provide abortions unless a patient is in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

The Case for a Medically-Urgent Abortion after the Supreme Court Overturned the Wade Law in Texas: Consequences from the Center for Reproductive Rights

Doctors, hospitals and lawyers have asked for clarity on what “serious risk” of a major bodily function entails, and the Texas attorney general’s office has held that the language is clear.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has repeatedly asserted that the exception language is vague and confusing for doctors and hospitals charged with making these calls, which is why it petitioned the court on Cox’s behalf.

Women who were denied a medically urgent abortion after the Supreme Court overturned the Wade law began to tell horror stories. In response, the anti-abortion movement developed a conspiracy theory to justify their policies.

A shattering case in Texas shows how absurd this argument is. Kate Cox, a mother of two, learned last month that her latest, much-wanted pregnancy was doomed due to a severe genetic disorder. If she didn’t continue with the pregnancy, the baby was likely to have a stillbirth and no chance of survival outside the womb.