Kate Cox is living a post-Roe nightmare. The 31-year-old mother of two lives in Texas, home to some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. When Cox found at 20 weeks of pregnancy that her fetus had a chromosomal abnormality that is almost always fatal to the fetus either before birth or soon after and could affect Cox's future fertility, she attempted to obtain an abortion. The Washington Post called the request “the first instance of an adult pregnant woman asking a court for permission to terminate her pregnancy under an abortion ban since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.”
Travis County district judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted a temporary restraining order against the state’s abortion ban to allow Cox to terminate her pregnancy. When the restraining order was announced, Cox burst into tears, according to The Texas Tribune. But this was not to be the end of Cox’s already harrowing journey to take control of her medical needs. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton issued a letter to three major hospitals in the Houston area, saying the judge’s decree would “not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas’ abortion laws.” The Texas Supreme Court paused the lower court ruling that would have allowed Cox to obtain an abortion. (As the Texas Tribune reported: Before the repeal of Roe v. Wade, Texas health care providers could terminate a pregnancy due to lethal fetal anomalies at any time. After the repeal, Texas instituted stringent abortion laws which outlawed abortion except in cases of the mother’s life being threatened.)
An abortion rights group representing Cox said on Monday that she is leaving the state of Texas to obtain the procedure. “This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate. 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 health care decisions for pregnant people…. 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” Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing Cox, said in a statement on X. There are currently no restrictions on leaving Texas for an abortion, however, the cost of travel could be prohibitive for many people across the state.
This is where reproductive rights stand in America in 2023. As though pregnancy, the loss of pregnancy, and the decisions a person must make about their own reproductive health are not personal or traumatic enough.
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