“Texas Supreme Court abortion order” : Texas Supreme Court Puts Hold on Abortion for Kate Cox, Pregnant Woman with Fatal Diagnosis Fetus

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Texas Supreme Court Halts Abortion Ruling in Landmark Case, Leaving Future in Limbo

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a judge’s decision granting permission for an abortion to a pregnant woman whose fetus has been diagnosed with a fatal condition. This ruling has thrown into uncertainty an unprecedented challenge to one of the most stringent bans on abortion in the United States.

The all-Republican court issued the order 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. This order prevented Texas from enforcing its ban in Cox’s case.

In a short one-page order, the court stated that it was temporarily staying the ruling made on Thursday “without regard to the merits.” The case remains pending, leaving the ultimate outcome uncertain.

Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents Cox, expressed concern about the delay. “While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state’s request and does so quickly, in this case, we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied,” Duane said.

Cox’s attorneys have chosen not to disclose her abortion plans, citing concerns for her safety. In a filing with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, they confirmed that she is still pregnant.

Cox, who was 20 weeks pregnant when she filed the lawsuit, is believed to be the first person to bring forward such a case since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that overturned Roe vs. Wade. It is important to note that the restraining order only applies to Cox and does not extend to other pregnant individuals in Texas.

According to Cox’s lawsuit, she discovered she was pregnant for the third time in August and was subsequently informed that her fetus was at a high risk of developing a condition called trisomy 18. This condition carries a high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth, along with low survival rates.

Furthermore, Cox’s doctors have cautioned that if the fetus’s heartbeat were to cease, inducing labor would pose a risk of uterine rupture due to her previous cesarean sections. Additionally, a full-term cesarean section would jeopardize her ability to carry another child.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Cox does not meet the criteria for a medical exception to the state’s abortion ban. He urged the Texas Supreme Court to take swift action, warning that future legal proceedings could not restore the lost life if Cox were to proceed with an abortion in violation of Texas law.

Paxton’s office also issued a warning to three hospitals in Houston, stating that they could face legal consequences if they allowed Cox’s physician to perform the abortion. Paxton referred to state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, who granted the initial ruling, as an “activist” judge.

In a separate development, a pregnant woman from Kentucky, known as Jane Doe, has also filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion. Doe, who is approximately eight weeks pregnant, wishes to terminate her pregnancy in Kentucky but is unable to do so due to the state’s ban. Unlike Cox’s lawsuit, the Kentucky challenge seeks class-action status to encompass other Kentuckians who are or will become pregnant and desire access to abortion services.

As the legal battles unfold in both Texas and Kentucky, the future of abortion rights in these states remains uncertain. The Texas Supreme Court’s decision to pause the judge’s ruling has added further depth to this high-stakes debate, leaving the fate of pregnant individuals seeking abortions hanging in the balance..