The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night put on hold a judge’s ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus had a fatal diagnosis, prompting an unprecedented challenge to one of the strictest bans in the US.
The order by the Republican-wide court came more than 30 hours after Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, received a temporary restraining order from a lower court judge preventing Texas from enforcing the state’s ban in her case.
In a one-page order, the court said it was pending Thursday’s decision “without regard to the merits.”
The case is still pending.
“While we remain hopeful that the Court will ultimately reject the state’s request and do so quickly, in this case we are concerned that justice delayed will be justice denied,” said Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents Cox.
Abortion rights protesters attend a rally at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 14, 2022. AP
Cox’s lawyers said they would not share her abortion plans, citing concerns for her safety.
In a filing with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, her attorney stated she is still pregnant.
Cox was 20 weeks pregnant this week when she filed what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind since last year’s US Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The order issued Thursday applies only to Cox and no other pregnant Texas women.
Cox learned she was pregnant for the third time in August and was told weeks later that her baby was at high risk for a condition known as trisomy 18, which has a very high chance of miscarriage or stillbirth and a low survival rate, according to her lawsuit. .
Protesters marched and gathered near the state capitol following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, on June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. AP
Additionally, doctors had told Cox that if the baby’s heartbeat stopped, pushing for labor would carry the risk of uterine rupture due to two previous C-sections and that another C-section at full term would jeopardize her ability to conceive again.
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Cox did not meet the criteria for a medical exemption to the state’s abortion ban, and he urged the state’s highest court to act quickly.
“Future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the lives lost if Plaintiffs or their agents continue to perform and obtain abortions in violation of Texas law,” Paxton’s office told the court.
Abortion rights protesters provide hours of public comment and discussion as the Dentonas city council votes on a resolution to make enforcement of Texas’ trigger law on abortion a low priority for its police force, in Denton, Texas, June 28, 2022. REUTERS
He also warned three hospitals in Houston that they could face legal consequences if they allow Dr. Cox to perform abortions, despite the ruling from state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, whom Paxton called an “activist” judge.
On Friday, a pregnant Kentucky woman also filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, was about eight weeks pregnant and she wanted to have an abortion in Kentucky but could not legally do so because of the state’s ban, the suit said.
Unlike Cox’s lawsuit, Kentucky’s challenge seeks class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will be pregnant and want an abortion.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
