The Texas Supreme Court has put a lower court's ruling on hold that would have allowed a woman to get an abortion.
Kate Cox of Dallas filed a lawsuit last week with her lawyers arguing her fetus had been diagnosed with a genetic condition that would prevent survival outside the womb. They also said carrying the baby to term could harm her ability to have kids in the future.
"Ms. Cox's physicians have informed her that their 'hands are tied' and she will have to wait until her baby dies inside her or carry the pregnancy to term, at which point she will be forced to have a third C-section, only to watch her baby suffer until death," their lawsuit read.
Last week, a district judge in Travis County issued a temporary restraining order which would have allowed Cox to proceed with an abortion.
Friday, the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay on the district court ruling, which put Cox' ability to get an abortion on hold.
The team representing the Texas attorney general's office argued the lower court "abused Its discretion" in allowing the abortion.
"Temporary injunctive relief is intended to be just that—temporary—and 'may not be used to obtain an advance ruling on the merits,'" they wrote in their argument. Ken Paxton's team wrote an abortion "is not temporary relief, nor does it preserve the status quo."
The Texas Supreme Court stayed the lower court's ruling, but that does not mark the end of the case. Instead, the Texas Supreme Court decision prevents Cox from getting an abortion until the court issues a full ruling.
The Texas Supreme Court has not set a timeline to issue that ruling.
Monday afternoon, the Center for Reproductive Rights said Cox had "been forced to flee her home state of Texas to get the time-sensitive abortion care needed to protect her health and future fertility." The organization said the Texas Supreme Court had not issued a final ruling on a time-sensitive manner.
"This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate. Her health is on the line. She's been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn't wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people," Chief Executive Nancy Northup wrote in a statement.
