One Texas case shows why women can’t rely on legal exceptions to abortion bans
In Texas, the case also suggests that abortions in circumstances similar to Cox’s could remain illegal, highlighting just how hollow and limited medical exceptions are.
“It … reveals just how ineffective the ‘health and life’ exceptions to abortion bans are in practice,” Wake Forest law professor Meghan Boone told Vox. “If doctors cannot reasonably interpret these exceptions, they will understandably refrain from providing care — even when they believe it would be the correct treatment for their patient.”
Read more at Vox
Texas Supreme Court rules against woman who sought abortion hours after she says she’ll travel out of state
“If Kate can’t get an abortion in Texas, who can? Kate’s case is proof that exceptions don’t work, and it’s dangerous to be pregnant in any state with an abortion ban,” Duane said.
Read more at NBC News
Texas supreme court overturns ruling that would have let woman get emergency abortion
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.
Read more at The Guardian
Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Pregnant Woman Seeking Emergency Abortion
“These laws reflect the policy choice that the Legislature has made, and the courts must respect that choice,” the court’s seven-page ruling read. The court found that Cox’s doctor, Dr. Damla Karsan, had “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.”
Read more at Rolling Stone
In Sentencing Kate Cox To Suffer, The Texas Abortion Ban Is Working Just As Intended
In the Texas ban, the combination of subjective, non-medical language — when is a condition “life threatening”? When is a bodily function “at risk” of “substantial impairment”? — and hefty penalties — including first or second degree felony charges, $100,000 fines for each violation and loss of medical license — guarantees that health care providers will read the exceptions narrowly.
Read more at Talking Points Memo
Texas Supreme Court rules against Kate Cox in abortion case
“Kate’s case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant people, and exceptions don’t work,” Northup said in a statement. “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.”
Read more at The Hill