Texas judge allows woman to get emergency abortion despite state ban

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – A Texas judge on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order allowing a woman with a complicated, likely non-viable pregnancy to get an abortion, in what her lawyers said was the first such case since the U.S. Supreme Court last year allowed states to ban abortion.

The plaintiff, Kate Cox, had asked the court in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday to allow her to obtain an abortion despite the state’s near-total ban on the procedure, saying her fetus was likely not viable and her continued pregnancy threatened her health.

Her fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a genetic abnormality that usually results in miscarriage or death soon after birth. Cox said in her lawsuit because she had two previous Caesarian sections, she would need to have a third one if she continues the pregnancy, which could jeopardize her ability to have more children. She said she and her husband wanted to have more children.

“The idea that Ms. Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability, is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice,” District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin, Texas, state court said at a hearing.

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Texas’ abortion ban includes only a narrow exception to save the mother’s life or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.

Johnathan Stone, a lawyer for the state, said at Thursday’s hearing that Cox had not shown she qualified for the exception. He said showing that would require a more through hearing on evidence, rather than a temporary restraining order.

Molly Duane, a lawyer for Cox, said at the hearing that “Cox’s life and future fertility are at great risk.” She said Cox had visited the emergency room four times in the last month, including once since the lawsuit was filed, with symptoms including cramping and leaking fluid.

Cox’s husband, Justin Cox, and Damla Karsan, an OBGYN who said she would perform the abortion if not for the ban are also plaintiffs in the case.

Karsan is also one of 22 plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit seeking a broader order protecting Texas women’s right to abortions their doctors deem medically necessary, in which the state’s highest court heard arguments last week. The court has not ruled in that case.

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