Toplines & Key Facts: 

• On Tuesday, the CRR filed suit against the State of Texas
• Today, a judge granted Kate Cox a temporary restraining order
• She can now obtain her necessary abortion

Update to a Groundbreaking Abortion Case

Earlier this morning on Dec. 7, only two days after the Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit against the State of Texas, a decision was made in the new Travis County abortion case. Kate Cox can legally obtain her “dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion immediately to preserve her life, health, and fertility” after Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued her a temporary restraining order. She ruled that Cox’s situation does meet the medical exceptions to Texas’s abortion bans and laws. 

Also included in the order are Cox’s husband, Justin Cox, and her doctor, Dr. Damla Karsan. This extension to them is necessary because many anti-abortion laws currently penalize those who help Texans acquire abortions, not necessarily those who obtain them, such as in SB 8. Without permission from the court, Karsan could have faced the threat of prosecution and imprisonment for life up to 99 years, loss of license, and civil fines over $100,000.

Even as we were about to publish this article, Texas Att. Gnl. Ken Paxton released a memo threatening the hospitals and plaintiffs again. The anti-abortion movement will stop at nothing to deprive Texans of their healthcare, and fear-monger about potential consequences. 

“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 Maya Guerra Gamble

However, we still won today. This victory comes after 20 weeks of Kate’s pregnancy involving a history of hospital visits and unnecessary pain caused by Texas’s authoritarian policies. Today, she was returned her rights, and she can pursue the life she wants, with her own medical decision-making power.

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Two days ago when the CRR released details, we covered the case in our article, “Woman Sues Texas to Allow Abortion.” Please also refer to our podcast coverage on the CRR’s other case involving Amanda Zurawski and 21 other plaintiffs, in our Happy Hour episode 136. Progress Texas is, and will continue to be, committed to reporting on and advocating for reproductive rights in Texas.