A Texas judge said she will grant a temporary restraining order allowing a pregnant woman to get an abortion, during an emergency hearing Thursday.
Cox v. Texas marked the first case in which a woman directly petitioned the state to allow an abortion to proceed since Texas banned abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the suit Tuesday on behalf of Kate Cox, a pregnant woman from the Dallas-Fort Worth Area.
According to the filing, Cox's fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a condition that is usually fatal. Based on ultrasounds and testing, doctors said her pregnancy was likely to end in miscarriage or stillbirth, with the baby surviving a few days at most. Doctors also said delivery would be dangerous for Cox, and her ability to carry future pregnancies would be jeopardized.
Under Texas鈥� three overlapping abortion bans, an emergency medical abortion is permitted only in cases where a 鈥渓ife-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy鈥� 鈥減laces the woman in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.鈥�
In an emergency hearing that lasted around a half hour, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County鈥檚 459th District Court heard arguments from Cox鈥檚 lawyers and from state attorneys. Gamble was unmoved by state attorney Johnathan Stone鈥檚 arguments that Cox鈥檚 condition did not meet the standard for an emergency medical abortion.
"The idea that Miss 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," Gamble said.
Gamble said she would send out a signed order Thursday.
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