Pro-abortion activists were livid over the weekend after the Texas Supreme Court made a bombshell ruling that blocked a lower court's order.
According to Breitbart, the state's high court blocked a ruling from a lower court that would have allowed a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant to have her unborn baby aborted.
Democrat Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble had originally issued a temporary restraining order against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and other officials who fought to block the abortion procedure.
Paxton asked the state's high court to intervene, which resulted in blocking the order "without regard to the merits" of the case.
Dallas-based Kate Cox, a mother of two, enlisted the help of the Center for Reproductive Rights to fight to be able to terminate her pregnancy.
Cox took legal action to attempt to obtain an abortion after doctors told her that her unborn child has "Trisomy 18, otherwise known as Edwards syndrome."
In her lawsuit, she argued that "her pregnancy may not survive to birth, and if it does, her baby would be stillborn or survive for only minutes, hours, or days."
The Texas Supreme Court stepped in late Friday to stop a 31-year-old mother from having an abortion after a lower court judge gave the green light. Doctors say her fetus is not viable and carrying it to term could threaten her life. @eschulze reports. https://t.co/8seWc5CM2n pic.twitter.com/CZsxNgsM5U
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) December 10, 2023
Breitbart noted:
The complaint also states that Cox had been to three different emergency rooms within a month due to “severe cramping and unidentifiable fluid leaks.” The lawsuit alleges that her history of having two prior cesarean surgeries means continuing the pregnancy “puts her at high risk for severe complications threatening her life and future fertility, including uterine rupture and hysterectomy.”
Her physician stated that Cox's request for the abortion fell within the medical exemption rules of Texas abortion laws. Doctors can be prosecuted if an abortion is performed that doesn't fall within those standards.
The Texas AG argued that proper procedures were not followed at the hospital in obtaining the proper clearance to perform the abortion under the rules of current state law.
"It appears she has not sought a second opinion from a colleague at your hospital to determine whether they agree with her that Ms. Cox qualifies for the medical exception. Nothing in the TRO (temporary restraining order) compels you to waive your hospital’s long-standing policies for determining whether a patient, including Ms. Cox, qualifies for the medical exception to Texas’ abortion laws," Paxton wrote.
The lawsuit, depending on how it ultimately settles, could set a precedent for similar cases in other states with strict abortion laws.
Other women have filed lawsuits against the state in attempts to obtain abortions.
