When Kate Cox, a pregnant, 31-year-old Dallas mother of two, learned her fetus had deadly Edwards Syndrome, her obstetrician recommended an abortion. Otherwise, delivery of a dead baby by caesarian section would put future pregnancies at risk.
But this was Texas, with a draconian abortion law, so the doctor said her “hands were tied.”
Cox went to court, and a county district judge ruled she could get an abortion. “The idea that Ms. Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability, is shocking and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice,” the judge said.
But Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, apparently knew better than the doctor and the judge.
He appealed to the state’s top court, and personally wrote to Cox’s obstetrician and the three hospitals where she practices, threatening expensive lawsuits and a possible prison term for the doctor.
The Texas Supreme Court — made up entirely of elected Republicans — backed Paxton on Monday, meekly acknowledging that Cox’s pregnancy was “extremely complicated” and suggesting the Texas Medical Board provide more detailed guidance for doctors.
Cox quickly left Texas to receive an abortion and ensure the possibility of having more children.
Luckily she had the financial means, and didn’t live in one of the Texas cities and counties that make it a crime to leave the state for an abortion. Indeed, in that same week officials in Amarillo, population 201,000, announced that an abortion travel ban would be considered at the next city council meeting.
How does this shocking story affect California and the rest of the country? Polling in Texas repeatedly shows that a majority favor more lenient rules than the current 6-week limit with no exceptions for rape and incest. But gerrymandering allows a minority of mainly rural Republicans to control the second most populous state in the United States. This type of minority rule could prevail across the country if Donald Trump is re-elected as President.
Paxton is a close ally, having led a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election result, and Trump offered strong support during Paxton’s recent impeachment trial. Though Trump has suggested some new anti-abortion laws are too strict, he continues to take a pro-life stance. And his most ardent supporters include many like Paxton on the anti-abortion far right.
So what happens in Texas could be a model for a second Trump administration. If that happens, America will get more conservative federal judges — maybe even on the Supreme Court. A national anti-abortion law could be the next attempt from the hard right to usurp the wishes of the majority in America.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from San Diego, was quick to see the danger.
“Until we are able to pass legislation that guarantees the right to abortion at the federal level, we are going to keep seeing horror stories like this one in the news,” she said on Wednesday. “We need to focus all our energy on taking back the House in 2024 and electing Democrats who will protect reproductive freedom.”
Paxton won this case, and Trump is leading the polls for the Republican nomination. So what happened in Texas may not stay there. Women, and indeed all Americans, should be angry — and worried.
Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.