Texas Supreme Court blocks lower court order allowing pregnant woman to get abortion

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night stayed a judge’s ruling Approved abortion of a pregnant woman whose fetus has been diagnosed with a fatal outcome, posing an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive restrictions in the U.S.

The all-Republican court order 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 that blocks Texas from enforcing the state’s ban. . His case.

In a one-page order, the court said it was temporarily staying Thursday’s ruling “regardless of the merits.” The case is still pending.

Molly Duane, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights who is representing Cox, said, “While we still hope the court ultimately rejects the state’s request and does so quickly, we fear that in this case justice will be denied.” There will be no delay in justice.”

Cox’s lawyers have said they will not share her abortion plans, citing concerns about her safety. In a filing with the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, her lawyers indicated that she was still pregnant.

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Cox was 20 weeks pregnant this week when she filed the lawsuit, the first of its kind following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year. who overturned Roe vs. Wade, The order issued Thursday applies only to Cox and not other pregnant women in Texas.

Cox found out she was pregnant for the third time in August and weeks later she was told her baby was at high risk for a condition called trisomy 18, which has a very high chance of miscarriage or stillbirth and a low survival rate. Is. trial.

Additionally, doctors told Cox that if the baby’s heartbeat stopped, inducing labor would put her at risk of uterine rupture due to her two previous cesarean sections, and another C-section at full term her second. Will jeopardize the carrying capacity. 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, and he urged the state’s highest court to act swiftly.

Paxton’s office told the court, “Future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the life that is lost if plaintiffs or their agents proceed to seek and provide abortions in violation of Texas law.”

He also warned three Houston hospitals that they could face legal consequences if they allowed Cox’s physician to perform an abortion despite the ruling by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, whom Paxton called an “activist” judge. .

A pregnant woman from Kentucky on Friday also filed a lawsuit Seeking Abortion Rights The lawsuit states that the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, is approximately eight weeks pregnant and wants to get an abortion in Kentucky, but cannot legally do so due to state restrictions. Can.

Unlike Cox’s lawsuit, the Kentucky challenge seeks class-action status to include other Kentuckians who are or will be pregnant and want an abortion.

Copyright 2023 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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