The Texas Supreme Court has overturned a lower court order which allowed a pregnant woman to seek an emergency abortion, just hours after her lawyers announced she had left the state to have the procedure performed.
Kate Cox, whose foetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition, was granted a temporary restraining order last week, authorising her to seek an emergency abortion.
But on Monday the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court made a mistake in ruling that Ms Cox – who is more than 20 weeks pregnant – was entitled to a medical exception.
The court’s seven-page ruling found that Ms Cox’s doctor, Damla Karsan, “asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”
The state’s almost near-total ban allows for abortions to go ahead only when a pregnancy seriously threatens the health or life of the woman.
“These laws reflect the policy choice that the Legislature has made, and the courts must respect that choice,” the court wrote. The ruling applied only to Ms Cox’s current pregnancy.
It added that Dr Karsan’s “good faith belief” that the procedure was medically necessary was not enough to qualify for the state’s exception.
Instead, the court said, Karsan would need to determine in her “reasonable medical judgment” that Cox had a “life-threatening condition” and that an abortion was necessary to prevent her death or impairment of a major bodily function.
Kate Cox’s temporary restraining order has been overturned by the Texas Supreme Court— (AP)
Instead, the court said, Dr Karsan would need to determine in her “reasonable medical judgment” that Cox had a “life-threatening condition” and that an abortion was necessary to prevent her death or impairment of a major bodily function.
“The statute requires that judgment be a ‘reasonable medical’ judgment, and Dr Karsan has not asserted that her ‘good faith belief’ about Ms Cox’s condition meets that standard,” the ruling stated.
“Judges do not have the authority to expand the statutory exception to reach abortions that do not fall within its text under the guise of interpreting it. The trial court erred in applying a different, lower standard instead of requiring reasonable medical judgment.”
Advocates for Ms Cox’s case say she has been through a recent state of “legal limbo” – described as “hellish” – which prompted her to flee the state.
Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights said: “[Ms Cox’s] health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer.
“This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people—they are not doctors.”
Ms Northrup continued: “She desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence.”
Ms Cox’s baby was diagnosed with full trisomy 18, a lethal condition, the group wrote.
