The Supreme Court of the conservative US state of Texas on Friday, December 8, denied the possibility of an abortion to a woman with a very risky pregnancy, American media reported.
It was seized by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who wanted to prevent Kate Cox from terminating her pregnancy. In a unilateral order, the court announced that it was temporarily suspending the decision without ruling on the merits.
On Thursday, Maya Guerra Gamble, a Texas judge, approved the abortion of this 31-year-old woman whose pregnancy her doctor said could endanger her life and fertility, a rare decision in the state that bans abortions. Abortion with very rare exceptions, one of the strictest laws on the subject in the United States.
Also read: A Texas judge allows a woman with a very risky pregnancy to have an abortion
Kate Cox, who was 20 weeks pregnant when she sued Texas to preserve the right to an abortion, received confirmation last week that her fetus had Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality associated with severe birth defects. According to their arguments, she has a very high chance of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates. In addition, doctors told her that if the fetal heart stopped, inducing labor would carry the risk of uterine rupture due to her two previous cesarean sections and that another cesarean section would jeopardize her ability to carry another child.
A complaint in Kentucky
“Texas law prohibits elective abortions,” emphasized Attorney General Ken Paxton, an ultra-conservative Republican, who argues that Ms. Cox’s arguments do not meet the criteria for a medical exception to the abortion ban. Abortion in the state, and which called on the Texas Supreme Court to “uphold” Judge Guerra Gamble’s decision, saying she “abused her power” without “any evidence.”
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In a press release accompanying a letter addressed to Texas hospitals, Ken Paxton had already warned Texas hospitals on Thursday that they could face legal consequences if they stopped treatment, despite the decision of the judge, whom he described as “militant.” of Ms. Cox would allow the doctor to perform the abortion.
In the summer of 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned its Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed American women's federal right to terminate pregnancies for half a century. Since then, around twenty states have banned or severely restricted abortions, such as Texas, which only allows abortions if there is a risk of death or serious disability to the mother.
On Friday, a pregnant woman from Kentucky, where abortion is also banned, also filed a complaint demanding abortion rights. Unlike Ms. Cox's lawsuit, this complaint seeks class action status to include other residents of the state who are or are becoming pregnant and seeking an abortion.
Also Read: Abortion Rights: What is the Roe vs. Wade decision that established the legal framework for access to abortion in the United States in 1973?