Abortion: Judge allows abortion in one case

In Texas, a court has allowed a pregnant woman to have an abortion in a case that has been followed with great interest – provoking an angry reaction from the attorney general of the conservatively governed US state. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled Thursday that 31-year-old Kate Cox should be allowed to have an abortion because of risks to her health.

The woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, found out last week that her fetus had the chromosomal disorder trisomy 18. “All of her doctors have told her that her baby will be born dead or will only live for minutes, hours or days”Cox’s attorney Molly Duane said in court at the online emergency hearing. The pregnancy also poses major health risks for Cox and for the mother of two’s chances of having more children.

First emergency abortion since 1973

After the nationwide fundamental right to abortion, which has been in effect since 1973, was repealed by the US Supreme Court in June 2022, Texas – like many other conservative states – passed a very strict abortion law. It prohibits abortions even in cases of incest and rape and only allows them if the woman’s life and health are in danger.

However, doctors complain that the guidelines are not clear. They fear high penalties if they have an abortion that is not covered by the law. According to the non-governmental organization Center for Reproductive Rights, Kate Cox was probably the first woman in the USA since the – now repealed – nationwide legalization of abortion in 1973 to request an emergency abortion in court.

Judge Gamble granted the emergency motion of the 31-year-old from the city of Dallas. “The idea that Ms Cox desperately wants to be a mother and that this law could effectively result in her losing the ability to be a mother is shocking and would be a real miscarriage of justice”said the judge on Thursday.

Prosecutors angered by Texas verdict

The arch-conservative Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, harshly attacked Gamble for her decision and accused her of acting like an activist. He threatened that the court decision does not protect hospitals and doctors from civil and criminal consequences for violating Texas abortion law.

Abortion rights are one of the most controversial sociopolitical issues in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2022 triggered a political earthquake. In their highly controversial decision, the constitutional judges had the fundamental ruling Roe v. Wade repealed the 1973 law that enshrined a nationwide right to abortion.