Kate Cox goes out of state for abortion after Texas AG blocks medical exception

A Texas woman whose emergency exception for an abortion was blocked by the state’s attorney general has left the state to undergo the procedure legally.

Kate Cox, a mother of two from the Dallas area who is roughly 20 weeks pregnant, learned late last month that her fetus has trisomy 18, a chromosomal condition that causes severe abnormalities and organ defects. The disorder, also called Edwards Syndrome, is often fatal before birth or within the first year of life.

Cox and her husband sought a court order to end the unviable pregnancy, which her doctors recommended to protect her current health and future fertility. A district judge granted the request on Thursday but state attorney general Ken Paxton immediately appealed to the state supreme court and argued her situation did not meet the criteria for a medical exception to the state’s abortion ban. The state supreme court paused the district court’s ruling on Friday

Texas bans abortion except in limited circumstances, such as if the mother’s life is threatened.

While trisomy 18 poses health risks and complications to a pregnant person, Paxton claimed Cox had not sufficiently argued she would suffer “immediate and irreparable injury” without an abortion, according to NBC News.

Cox’s doctors said inducing labor or carrying the baby to term may jeopardize her ability to get pregnant in the future.

However, the family plans to press their case in Texas with the state’s highest court and could take their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, with no guarantee they would take the case.

“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,” Nancy Northup, head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said.

“She desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family,” Northup said. “While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence.”