As I mentioned last Thursday, Texas resident Kate Cox has a fetus with lethal health issues and carrying it to term could wreck her ability to have more kids. This would seem to qualify for Texas’ abortion-ban exception and a judge agreed. Ken Paxton threatened to sue the doctors asserting the judge doesn’t have the medical knowledge to decide if this is necessary. Unlike, presumably Paxton.
I suspect this has less to do with Paxton’s keen medical knowledge than that he’s confident after beating an impeachment attempt earlier this year that he’s untouchable. So he’s going where only a few forced-birther are currently ready to go, embracing a “not even the life or health of the mother” standard (as Jennifer Rubin points out). Not that he’s saying that but it’s the logical interpretation of his stance. By contrast, Texas’ senators are ducking and weaving about the case.
In any case, the Texas Supreme Court first blocked the lower court’s ruling, then overturned it. One of the judges has been arrested protesting at abortion clinics 37 times and he and his wife went through with a high-risk pregnancy despite the probability of both mother and fetus dying (the mother lived, the baby died after an hour. Which is fine if the woman chooses that path but it’s obvious he wouldn’t care much for Cox’s health.
The state Supremes argued that judges can’t authorize an exemption — it’s entirely up to the doctors to decide. Of course, as Paxton made clear, deciding doesn’t stop the state or a private citizen from suing the doctors; even if the physician wins, that’s a lot to deal with. As witness the argument against Cox was that her doctor had made a good-faith determination she needed an abortion when the state standard was “reasonable medical judgment.” That’s some impressive “who cares if she becomes sterile or dies” hairsplitting. But according to Paxton’s office, if one doctor gets to say an abortion is medically necessary, other doctors will just lie. Only way to prevent abuse of the exemption is to act like it doesn’t exist.
Anti-abortion activists have been screaming since Dobbs that state bans clearly allow medically necessary abortions; claims to the contrary are from cowardly doctors or abortion-rights activists making shit up. Paxton’s office has argued that if doctors refuse to perform abortions, women should sue their doctors — it’s not the state’s fault!
This case, as Michelle Goldberg says, proves doctors are right to worry — the state is not an innocent bystander. And as Goldberg notes, none of the right-to-life groups spoke up to defend the exemption they say is clear and appropriate. Likewise, much as the movement claims it doesn’t want women punished, when politicians like Mike “12 year olds can be happily married” Moon in Missouri call for arresting women as murderers … crickets.
If they can find a way to impose a national ban, they will. If they can ban drug-based abortions, they will. As Jessica Valenti points out the 15-week compromise the Repubs keep offering for a nationwide ban would offer no exemptions for fetal abnormality — and it’ll only be a compromise until they can ban it entirely. If we end up like El Salvador where even life of the mother cases don’t allow abortion — well Paxton’s not unique in his stance. They’re also working to discourage prenatal genetic testing that would reveal these kinds of issues.
Or consider this little case in Ohio: a woman miscarried at home, put some of the tissue down the toilet and the rest outside. She’s being prosecuted for abusing a corpse.
Cox has had to leave the state to get her abortion. I’m glad she can afford to do that, sorry it’s necessary, hopeful even Paxton won’t try to “get” her when she comes home. And as Valenti says, the Republican national ban would mean there’s nowhere women like her can go.
For more misogynist bullshit about abortion, Undead Sexist Cliches is available as a Amazon paperback, an ebook and from several other retailers. Cover by Kemp Ward, all rights remain with current holders.
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