Woman who was denied abortion in Texas to attend State of the Union
Newsy
Kate Cox's fetus had a genetic condition known as trisomy 18, which makes the baby likely to die in the womb or within the first month after birth.
Kate Cox, the woman whose medical condition prompted her to seek an exemption from Texas' abortion ban last year, will attend the State of the Union address.
“On Sunday, the President and the first lady spoke to Kate Cox, who was forced to go to court to seek permission for the care she needed for a non-viable pregnancy that threatened her life,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. “They thanked her for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out about the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas. The first lady invited Kate to join her as a guest at the State of the Union, and Kate accepted.”
Cox's fetus had a genetic condition known as trisomy 18, which makes the baby likely to die in the womb or within the first month after birth, but it also put her life at risk from complications, including a ruptured uterus.
So Cox filed a lawsuit requesting a court order to allow her to terminate her pregnancy, as it's illegal to perform an abortion in Texas. Initially, a lower court ruled that Cox could have an abortion, but then the state of Texas filed an appeal, which prompted the state Supreme Court to intercede. Later, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against Cox, as it was determined that she wouldn't meet the criteria for an abortion under the "medical exception" in the state's abortion laws.
"A woman who meets the medical-necessity exception need not seek a court order to obtain an abortion. Under the law, it is a doctor who must decide that a woman is suffering from a life-threatening condition during a pregnancy, raising the necessity for an abortion to save her life or to prevent impairment of a major bodily function," the court wrote.
