Denton, Texas – In a heated session, the Denton city council recently convened to discuss and vote on a resolution that seeks to relegate the enforcement of Texas’ trigger law on abortion to a low priority for its local police force. The decision follows the Texas Supreme Court’s unanimous overturning of a lower court ruling that would have permitted a pregnant woman, Kate Cox, to undergo an emergency abortion under the medical exception provided by the state’s near-total abortion ban.
The legal battle, which saw the Texas Supreme Court siding with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s petition, centered around Cox’s plea for an abortion due to a fatal diagnosis of trisomy 18, a genetic abnormality. Cox argued that continuing the pregnancy posed severe risks to her health, including potential complications for future pregnancies.
Contrary to the lower court’s decision, the Texas Supreme Court, composed entirely of Republican justices, ruled that a mere “good faith belief” by Dr. Damla Karsan, who intended to perform the abortion and joined Cox in the lawsuit, was insufficient to qualify for the state’s medical exception. The court mandated that Karsan must make a determination in her “reasonable medical judgment” that Cox faced a “life-threatening condition” necessitating an abortion to prevent death or impairment of a major bodily function.
In response to the ruling, Molly Duane of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal representative for Cox, expressed strong discontent, stating, “This ruling should enrage every Texan to their core.” Duane argued that the case underscored the inadequacy and dangers of relying on exceptions within states with restrictive abortion laws.
Paxton’s office, which had urged the Texas Supreme Court to intervene swiftly, did not immediately respond to requests for comments following the ruling. In their filing, Paxton’s office asserted that Cox failed to meet the criteria for a medical exception and cautioned against turning Texas courts into “revolving doors of permission slips to obtain abortions.”
Cox’s legal challenge is regarded as a significant test of the scope of the medical exception within Texas’ abortion laws, an issue already under consideration in a separate case involving 22 women with pregnancy complications. The recent ruling appears to challenge the argument that doctors’ good-faith beliefs should be sufficient to meet the exception.
As the legal landscape surrounding abortion rights continues to evolve, Denton’s city council remains at the forefront of local decisions, grappling with the implications of Texas’ restrictive abortion policies and the broader implications for women’s reproductive rights.
[Image Credit: Shelby Tauber/File Photo, Reuters – Acquire Licensing Rights]
