Judge grants emergency order allowing Texas woman to get an abortion

A Texas judge ruled in favor of a woman who says she is in need of an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality that typically leads to a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death soon after birth. Texas law bans abortions under nearly all circumstances, bans that went back into place following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Under Texas law, anyone who performs an abortion could face felony charges punishable by a sentence of up to life in prison. In this case, the Dallas mother, who is 20 weeks pregnant, filed for a temporary restraining order that would block the state’s abortion ban. A Judge granted the emergency order on Thursday, Dec. 7.

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In arguing for her case, attorneys for Kate Cox, the Dallas mother, said she has already undergone two cesarean sections for her two children. On top of her fetus’ diagnosis, another C-section could put her at risk of serious medical issues. In her ruling, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble noted Cox’s will to be a parent, and an abortion may give her the ability to birth another child in the future.

“The idea that Ms. Cox wants so desperately to be a parent and this law may have her lose that ability is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice,” Judge Guerra Gamble said. “So I will be signing the order and it will be processed and sent out today.”

Still, even with Thursday’s Dec. 7 ruling, the Texas attorney general has threatened that anyone who performs the abortion would be prosecuted and could face civil and criminal liability under Texas abortion laws.

“The temporary ruling fails to show that Dr. Karsan meets all of the elements necessary to fall within an exception to Texas’ abortion laws,” Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote. “Judge Guerra Gamble is not medically qualified to make this determination and it should not be relied upon.”