Texas Woman Forced To Flee State To Get Medically Necessary Abortion

Kate Cox has been through enough this week.

After first being told by one judge that she could have the medically necessary abortion she needs, the state Supreme Court issued a stay on that ruling preventing her from getting one — clearly a stalling tactic to make it more difficult for her to obtain an abortion, given that she is already 20 weeks pregnant.

Texas Court Gives Ken Paxton Another Shot To Force Woman To Give Birth To Dead Baby

Now, she’s just heading on out of there and getting her abortion somewhere else (and, we are certain, with the help of literally no one else — should any Texas vigilantes get dollar signs in their eyes).

“This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate. Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people,” Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights that is representing Cox in her case, said in a statement.

Northup explained, also, that part of the reason Kate Cox had fought so hard was because she wanted to be able to have the procedure done near her home, where she could recover with family, instead of having to be all by herself in another state — especially because, remember, she had wanted this pregnancy. This is another tragic aspect of the state’s vigilante laws, that allows nosy creeps and abusers to file suit against anyone who assists someone else getting an abortion in any way.

Although she is getting her abortion now, Reuters reports that she will not be dropping her lawsuit against the state.

Attorney General Ken Paxton had made it clear that he really, really, really wanted to force Kate Cox to give birth to a baby that was not going to survive, and the fact is she was facing a Supreme Court in which one of the judges was arrested multiple times for protesting in front of abortion clinics and considered it a point of pride that his own wife, who doctors said might die in labor, gave birth to a child who lived for only an hour. If Cox had waited, she would have been screwed.

We are glad that she is getting the medical care she needs and only wish that everyone in Texas who needed or wanted an abortion were also able to get one.

Not the most upbeat end-of-day post, but we wanted to give up this update.

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