Texas judge allows woman with very risky pregnancy to have abortion despite ban

A relief. A judge in the American state of Texas, where abortions are prohibited with very rare exceptions, decided on Thursday, December 7 to authorize an abortion to a woman whose pregnancy could threaten her life and fertility. Kate Cox, 31, learned last week that her fetus had Down syndrome.

In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned its “Roe v. Wade” ruling, which had guaranteed for half a century the federal right of American women to terminate their pregnancies. Texas then banned all abortions, including in cases of incest or rape. The only exception: in the event of danger of death or risk of serious disability for the mother.

Due to Texas law, Kate Cox cannot have an abortion, as her doctors tell her she has “hands tied” and that she must wait until the baby dies in her womb, according to the complaint filed on her behalf by the specialized association Center for Reproductive Rights. During an emergency hearing lasting less than an hour, Austin court judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the plaintiff’s request, ruling that the idea that Kate Cox could lose the opportunity to becoming a mother again was “shocking”.