Texas woman with risky pregnancy granted abortion despite state ban

A Texas judge has granted permission for an abortion to a woman whose foetus has a potentially fatal abnormality, despite the state's ban on the procedure.

The ruling - which Texas may challenge - is thought to be one of the first attempts to seek a court-granted abortion.

Texas law prohibits pregnancy terminations except to save the life of the expectant mother.

Abortion advocates argue the exception is too vague and puts women at risk.

That is the argument of Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, who is currently 20 weeks pregnant.

Her foetus has been diagnosed with trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder that causes abnormalities in the development of the brain, heart and other internal organs.

In almost all cases - at least 95% - the pregnancies end in miscarriage and stillbirth, according to the Cleveland Clinic. While some people can live for years with the condition, life expectancy for most is short - and those children who live past their first year may face severe intellectual challenges.

According to her lawsuit, Ms Cox's physicians told her their "hands are tied" as long as the baby had a heartbeat, because of the state abortion ban.

"It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to my baby, but when," Ms Cox said in a statement. "I'm trying to do what is best for my baby and myself, but the state of Texas is making us both suffer."

Doctors have told her continuing with the pregnancy poses a risk to her health and, potentially, her ability to carry another child, says Ms Cox. She has already had to visit the emergency room four times because of pain and discharge, her lawyers said.

"Kate Cox needs an abortion, and she needs it now," her petition reads.

On Thursday, Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted that request, handing down a temporary restraining order allowing Ms Cox to terminate her pregnancy, and protecting her doctor from civil and criminal penalties if she performs the procedure.

"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," Judge Gamble, a Democrat, said.

Lawyers for the state may ask a higher court to block the order.

After the court order was issued, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to three hospitals where Ms Cox's doctor has admitting privileges. In it, he threatened to prosecute anyone who is involved in providing an emergency abortion to Ms Cox, saying that he believes she failed to prove she qualifies for one.

Mr Paxton said that Judge Gamble's order "will not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else, from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas' abortion laws".

At the hearing, Jonathan Stone, with the Texas attorney general's office, argued that Ms Cox "does not meet all of the elements" to qualify for a medical exception.

Marc Hearron, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented Ms Fox, accused Mr Paxton of "fearmongering".

A ruling in Ms Cox's case could compel the state to define more clearly when abortions are allowed under the existing law.

Asked about the case later on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration was "glad" Ms Cox could obtain an abortion and that "no woman should have to go to a court to get the healthcare that she needs".

"We should not detract from the fact that stories like hers are becoming all too common in states where Republican elected officials are enforcing dangerous extreme bills," Ms Jean-Pierre said.

Ms Cox's emergency appeal comes as the Texas Supreme Court weighs another effort to clarify the state's abortion ban. That one is led by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Molly Duane, a lawyer for Kate Cox, has argued the state needs to clarify its medical exceptions

Molly Duane, a lawyer for the organisation, told the conservative court late last month that the near-total ban had left physicians "terrified" to use their medical judgment over fear of harsh penalties.

Doctors who perform abortions in Texas could risk life in prison, loss of their medical licence and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

While there are medical exceptions to the Texas ban, "no-one knows what it means and the state won't tell us", Ms Duane said.

A lawyer for the attorney general, Beth Klusmann, said existing standards allowed doctors to use "reasonable" medical judgment.

That case - Zurawski v State of Texas - could be decided by the state's highest civil court in the coming weeks.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022 - effectively rescinding a nationwide right to an abortion - decisions about the procedure have been left to individual states.