The Texas Supreme Court permanently blocked a judge’s ruling allowing a Texas woman to have an emergency abortion, just hours after her lawyers said she was forced to travel out of state for the procedure.
The court’s seven-page ruling comes days after it temporarily blocked the judge’s decision to let Kate Cox have an abortion.
Advertisement
Earlier in the day, the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit on Cox’s behalf, shared in a series of tweets that Cox had traveled out of state for the time-sensitive procedure.
“After a week of legal whiplash and threats of prosecution from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, our client Kate Cox has been forced to flee her home state of Texas to get the time-sensitive abortion care needed to protect her health and future fertility,” it said.
Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, filed her lawsuit last week while 20 weeks pregnant after her doctor informed her that her fetus was unlikely to make it to term or survive long outside the womb. The pregnancy would also risk her life and ability to carry future children, doctors warned her.
“This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate,” Nancy Northup, the center’s CEO and president, said in a statement. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people.”
Advertisement
Cox’s lawsuit is believed to be the first of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, allowing Texas and several other states to severely crack down on access to abortion.
A judge ruled in her favor last week, giving her a narrow window to undergo the procedure, but Paxton stepped in days later and urged the state’s Supreme Court to intervene, saying the ruling was from an “activist” judge. He also issued warnings to hospitals in Houston that they could face legal repercussions if they provided Cox’s abortion.
After temporarily blocking the lower court ruling last week, the Texas Supreme Court moved to overturn the decision Monday. In the decision, the court wrote that Cox’s doctor “asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”
Cox’s lawsuit noted that her doctor said her pregnancy could result in a uterine rupture, which can lead to death.
Advertisement
Northup noted that while Cox was able to leave the state, many patients don’t have that option.
“Kate desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence,” she said Monday.
Patients who can’t afford the expenses of going out-of-state for abortions ― including transportation, lodging, child care and numerous other costs ― typically rely on networks of abortion funds for assistance.
And abortion providers in states where the procedure remains legal are overwhelmed by the influx of out-of-state patients.
“It’s terrible. We’re at a 50% increase just in the year,” Adrienne Mansaneres, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains told HuffPost in June on the one-year anniversary of Roe falling.
“The abortion infrastructure was already so fragile,” Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, told HuffPost at the time, “and it continues to really be stressed with fewer and fewer clinics available.”
Advertisement
This story has been updated throughout.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Women's Rights Hang In The Balance
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
The 2024 election will prove to have vast and potentially dire consequences for women in America. From the fall of Roe to an assault on IVF in Alabama and the resurrection of an 1864 Arizona abortion ban, women's rights are under attack across the country.
HuffPost is committed to bringing you the most up-to-date information as Americans vote this fall. While other news outlets retreat behind paywalls, we believe news this important should be free for everyone. Would you consider supporting our journalism? Even as little as $2 helps fund our work. Thank you.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.