AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court said it needs more time to weigh in on a lower court ruling which would have allowed a Dallas woman to get an emergency abortion, the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a news release.
On Thursday, a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order on the state’s abortion ban, which granted Kate Cox permission to seek the procedure.
Cox learned she was pregnant for a third time in August, and doctors told her last week her baby was at a high risk for a condition known as Trisomy 18.
According to a lawsuit, this means there is a very high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates, which could potentially impact her future fertility.
Earlier on Friday, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office sent a letter to three hospitals and threatened legal action if any of them allowed the abortion to be performed at their facility, the Texas Tribune reported.
“While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state’s request and does so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed will be justice denied,” said Molly Duane, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, in the release. “We are talking about urgent medical care. Kate is already 20 weeks pregnant. This is why people should not need to beg for healthcare in a court of law.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the case on Cox’s behalf earlier this week and asked the court to “affirm her right to access urgent abortion care and avoid putting her health at risk by continuing the pregnancy.”
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