The Texas Supreme Court blocked a judicial permit that a woman with a high-risk pregnancy had received to access an abortion, although it clarified that it will later analyze the merits of the case.
“Without taking into account the merits, the Court administratively suspends the district court’s decision” to allow the termination of the pregnancy that threatens her fertility and her life, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) reported late yesterday. in English), which represents women.
The state attorney general, Ken Paxton, had presented a request on Thursday to the Texas Supreme Court to annul the judicial authorization that district judge Maya Guerra Gamble had granted to the woman hours before to be able to terminate her pregnancy.
The pregnant woman whose life is at risk is 31 years old, has two children and lives in Dallas.
When undergoing routine tests, she learned that her unborn child has trisomy 18, a genetic condition that could cause a spontaneous abortion or a short survival of the child.
According to her doctors, the pregnancy even threatens her life. She still wants to be a mother and get pregnant again. If she survives, her fertility may be affected, she says in her lawsuit.
The Supreme Court specified that the woman’s request will remain in court for evaluation, but that for now the suspension also applies to Justin, Kate’s husband, and Dr. Damla Karsan, who listened to Kate and offered to treat her in The procedure. Texas laws also punish those who collaborate with abortion.
“While we still hope that the Court will ultimately reject the state’s request and do so quickly, in this case we fear that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Molly Duane, senior attorney for the CRR.
“We are talking about urgent medical attention. She is already 20 weeks pregnant. This is why people should not beg for medical attention in a court of law,” he added.
The CRR complains because the medical exceptions to abortion in Texas for when the mother’s life is at risk are not clear and leave doctors with their “hands tied.” That is why they requested judicial intervention.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble had said in the ruling that “the idea that Mrs. (…) desperately wants to be a mother and that this law could cause her to lose that capacity, is shocking and would be a miscarriage of justice (not granting her request )”.
The case is the first of its kind since the United States Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the Roe v. Wade, who guaranteed for half a century at the federal level the right of women to terminate their pregnancies.
After hearing Judge Guerra Gamble’s ruling on Thursday, the prosecutor sent letters to hospitals warning them of the “civil and criminal” consequences they could suffer if they performed an abortion in their facilities.
Additionally, Paxton called the judge an “activist” and said she abused her role by considering the woman qualifies for a medical exception. Her office considered Dr. Karsan’s recommendations for performing an abortion “subjective.”
Texas doctors found guilty of performing illegal abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000, and revocation of their license.
RRC lawyer Marc Hearron said Thursday that Paxton is trying to “tear down the legal system” so that Kate and women with similar cases “continue to suffer.”
The organization is also leading a lawsuit on behalf of 20 women who were denied abortions in Texas despite having severe health complications. In some cases, their children were stillborn or survived a few hours after birth. Those who could traveled to get abortions outside of Texas.
The case is also before the Texas Supreme Court, which must rule on whether to clearly establish exceptions to abortion and block some prohibitions.
Source: Ambito
