Medically necessary, forbidden by the court: Pregnant woman must leave her home in Texas for an abortion

Strict ban on abortion - Medically necessary, forbidden by the court: Pregnant woman must leave her home in Texas for an abortion

"I thought I would never need an abortion," Kate Cox said in an interview last week. "I want a big family." Shortly before, the pregnant American had learned that the foetus in her womb was terminally ill. Diagnosis: trisomy 18.

Trisomy 18 cannot be cured. It is a genetic disorder that disrupts the child's development and causes organ malformations. Most children either die in the womb, are stillborn or die shortly after birth.

For Cox's own safety, her doctor therefore advised the mother of two to have an emergency abortion. But Kate Cox lives in Texas - a state with one of the strictest abortion laws in the United States. Abortions are prohibited unless the pregnancy endangers the mother's life. "As long as the baby has a heartbeat, there's basically nothing you can do in Texas," Kate Cox summarized the law.

Abortion law in Texas is unclear according to critics

Critics also complain that the wording of the law is vague. Some doctors are therefore no longer performing medically necessary abortions for fear of being charged. This could result in the loss of their license to practice medicine, heavy fines - or even a long prison sentence of up to 99 years.

Kate Cox, who was 20 weeks pregnant at the time, went to court - the first court case of a medical exception in Texas. She wanted to protect her doctor, with whom she felt she was in good hands, as well as her husband, who could also be charged with aiding and abetting under the law. And she wanted to have the medically recommended abortion in her own home so she could recover at home.

What followed was a short-lived victory. In the first instance, Cox was vindicated. But just a few hours after the ruling, Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, intervened. Paxton appealed and went to the highest court in Texas to stop the abortion.

And he intimidated the accompanying doctor, Damla Karsan. He wrote letters to three clinics in Houston where she treats patients. This was reported by the"New York Times", among others. Even before a decision was made by the highest court, the letters contained the note that the first judge's ruling was provisional and would not protect the doctor from prosecution.

Cox had to wait again for days, despite physical complaints. The past week has been "hell" for the young mother, Nancy Northup said on Monday. Northup is president of the Center for Reproductive Health, which is legally representing Kate Cox and her relatives. The pregnant woman therefore left Texas before the court ruling in order to have the medically necessary procedure carried out in another state.

Kate Cox had to leave the state

Cox had been to the emergency room several times due to bleeding and cramps. "Her health is at stake. She's been in and out of the emergency room and couldn't wait any longer," Northup said. "That's why judges and politicians shouldn't be making decisions about pregnant women's health care - they're not doctors."

Even before the court decision itself, Cox said in an interview that she was deeply saddened. "I feel like I shouldn't subject my body to the risks of continuing this pregnancy through childbirth and induction with the possibility of a ruptured uterus [...]."

In the meantime, the Supreme Court in Texas has ruled - against Kate Cox. The court deemed the accompanying doctor's reasoning insufficient, according to a statement issued on Monday evening. "Any parent would be devastated to learn of the diagnosis of trisomy 18 in their unborn child," the court wrote in the statement. "However, some difficulties in pregnancy, even severe ones, do not pose the increased risks to the mother that the exception encompasses."

Since the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark "Roe v. Wade" ruling, leaving abortion law to the individual states, legislation has been a patchwork quilt. If pregnant women can afford it, they often leave particularly restrictive states such as Texas to have an abortion elsewhere. While there were around 50,000 abortions in Texas in 2020, there were only 34 this year up to September, according to official health statistics.

But a trip is not financially possible for everyone, the Center for Reproductive Health also criticizes. "Women are forced to beg in court for urgent medical care. Kate's case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant women and that exceptions don't work," says Nancy Northup. "While Kate had the option to leave the state, most people don't have that option, and a situation like this could be a death sentence."