Kate Cox, a 31-year-old woman from Dallas, filed a lawsuit in December 2023 asking the courts to allow her to terminate her pregnancy after she learned her fetus had full trisomy 18, a lethal fetal abnormality. The lawsuit, brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, said continuing the pregnancy posed a threat to Kate’s health and future fertility, but her doctors refused to perform an abortion due to the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. The Travis County District judge ruled in favor of Kate Cox, but Texas Attorney General appealed, leading the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling. The court emphasized that emergency medical decisions should align with “reasonable medical judgment.” They also urged the Texas Medical Board to provide clearer guidelines to physicians.
Previously politically disengaged, Kate and her husband Justin now plan to become regular voters as this experience opened their eyes to the ways families could be affected by laws that seemed to have little to do with them.