A judge in the American state of Texas, where abortions are prohibited with very rare exceptions, decided Thursday to authorize an abortion to a woman whose pregnancy could, according to her doctor, threaten her life and fertility.
• Read also: American woman with very risky pregnancy sues Texas for abortion
Kate Cox, 31, had confirmation last week that her fetus had Down syndrome and is demanding an abortion. In an emergency hearing lasting less than an hour, Austin court judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted her request, ruling that the idea that Ms. Cox could lose the chance to become a new mother was “shocking”.
“It would be a real miscarriage of justice,” she insisted.
AFP
Ms Cox, who attended the hearing remotely with her husband, cried when the decision was announced.
The State of Texas may appeal.
The lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, who filed the complaint on behalf of Ms. Cox and her obstetrician-gynecologist, explained that the young woman had to go to the emergency room again this week in due to severe pain.
“Kate Cox’s life and future fertility are in danger,” Molly Duane said. She must get “the abortion she needs now to end her suffering and protect her fertility.”
In the summer of 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” which had guaranteed for half a century the federal right of American women to terminate their pregnancies.
Texas has banned all abortions, including in cases of incest or rape. The only exception: in the event of danger of death or risk of serious disability for the mother. But abortion rights advocates say the exceptions are too vague and doctors are terrified of being sued.
“About to die”
The fact that Ms Cox’s fetus, who is 20 weeks pregnant, has Down syndrome means it is at risk of dying in utero. Even if the pregnancy goes to term, there is a high chance that the baby will be stillborn or die a few days later.
Ultrasound scans revealed that he had abnormalities in his spine and abdomen and that the development of his skull and heart was abnormal.
But because of the law in Texas, Ms. Cox cannot have an abortion, as her doctors tell her her “hands are tied” and that she must wait for the baby to die in her womb, according to her complaint.
Due to previous C-sections, labor induction also carries a high risk of rupture of the uterus, which could kill her or prevent her from becoming pregnant in the future if a hysterectomy is necessary, according to the same source.
On behalf of Texas, Johnathan Stone of the attorney general’s office said that “the only stakeholder who will suffer immediate and irreparable harm in this case” if the court grants Ms. Cox’s emergency request “is ‘State”.
“Abortion, once performed, is permanent, it cannot be undone,” he argued.
“We firmly believe that (Kate Cox’s) situation falls within the medical exception provided for by Texas abortion laws,” said Molly Duane.
However, “the State is trying to question Ms. Cox’s doctors and say that she is still not sick enough (…). From now on, a patient must be on the verge of death before a doctor can invoke the exception,” she denounced.
