Kate Cox faces the toll of U.S. abortion bans
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a five-decade old decision that protected a woman’s right to receive an abortion. With this constitutional right reversed, 14 U.S. states have enacted a near-total abortion ban with very few exceptions.
Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas, asking the court to declare her right to an abortion. Cox was 20 weeks pregnant when her fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a rare chromosomal condition that affects fetal development. According to the Cleveland Clinic, almost all pregnancies end in a miscarriage or stillbirth, and less than ten percent survive past their first birthday.
With this information present, Cox and her doctors believe an abortion is necessary for both her fetus’ health and her own health. “I do not want my baby to arrive in this world only to watch her suffer,” Cox wrote in an op-ed for the Dallas Morning News. “I need to end my pregnancy now so that I have the best chance for my health, for parenting my children, and for a future pregnancy,” she said.
On December 7, a district court judge ruled Cox could legally receive an abortion in the state of Texas. However, shortly after the ruling, the Texas Supreme Court temporarily prevented Cox from receiving the procedure until the court issued a ruling and opinion. They called upon the state’s medical board to provide medical guidance. In an opinion, the court stated that it should be decided by the doctors, not judges, to decide whether Cox could receive an abortion. The court ended up siding with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who stated that Cox and her doctors did not demonstrate her pregnancy was threatening her own life.
Shortly after the court ruling, Cox announced she had left Texas for the procedure. Although Cox is not disclosing any more details about her plans, her statement said she received offers to help her access abortion elsewhere, “from Kansas to Colorado to Canada,” Cox said.
Her attorney, Molly Duene, has not revealed whether or not Cox will move forward with the legal fight following the last Texas Supreme Court ruling. “It has been a very challenging week for Kate and her family,” Duene said in a statement to CNN. “To feel that her state has failed her so spectacularly that she has to flee her own state for a medically necessary abortion is truly heartbreaking.”
