The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily halted Kate Cox’s abortion.
The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion in a ruling issued late Friday.
The court froze a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed Kate Cox, who sued the state seeking a court-ordered abortion, to obtain the procedure. “Without regard to the merits, the Court administratively stays the district court’s December 7, 2023 order,” the order states.
The court noted the case would remain pending before them but did not include any timeline on when a full ruling might be issued. Cox is 20 weeks pregnant. Her unborn baby was diagnosed with a fatal genetic condition and she says complications in her pregnancy are putting her health at risk.
If the Texas Supreme Court doesn’t decide in Cox’s favor by the middle of next week, she needs to get her ass out of Texas and get an abortion somewhere else. At 20 weeks, she’s got about three weeks to go before the viability threshold. Of course, then she may not be able to return to Texas, as Ken Paxton will probably prosecute her.
Politico points out that Ken Paxton may be sorry he butted in.
Biden’s reelection campaign plans to argue the case is a prime example of the existential threat posed to women’s reproductive rights if Republicans return to power in 2024.
“Ken Paxton is doing a great job of expressing for thousands of women in Texas the horror of having the state in charge of your pregnancy,” said Cecile Richards, the former CEO of Planned Parenthood and current co-chair of Democratic Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. “These are people’s lives that are at stake, and it’s only going to get worse.”
The campaign on Friday repeatedly highlighted coverage of Paxton’s statement. It also sought to use the legal standoff to target GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, portraying the case as a direct result of the former president’s actions — from appointing three justices to the Supreme Court to backing policies aimed at limiting reproductive rights.
“This story is shocking, it’s horrifying, and it’s heartbreaking — it’s also becoming all too commonplace in America because of Donald Trump,” Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), a Biden campaign co-chair, said in a statement. “The American people should know that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans won’t stop here.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
You can count on the forced birth fanatics to not know when to back off.
In other news: If you missed Chris Hayes on the Biden economy last night, please watch and share, share, share.