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The Texas Supreme Court temporarily suspended a lower court decision Friday that allowed a Texas woman to have an emergency abortion.
The attorney general asked the high court to reverse the decision of the judge who gave the verdict of a woman request for an abortion for a pregnancy with a serious disability.
According to the Supreme Court, the case will be considered and the decision of the lower court will be suspended until there is more time to consider the case, according to the court records.
The woman, Kate Cox, filed a lawsuit against the state because of the ban on abortion, and asked the judge to grant her a temporary order allowing her to have an abortion.
“While we still hope that the Court will finally reject the request of the state and act quickly, in this case we fear that delaying the judgment will not be fair,” the statement said. said Molly Duane, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “We’re talking about urgent care, Kate is 20 weeks pregnant, so people don’t need to beg for health in court.”
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, a Democrat elected to the bench, granted Cox’s request.
“The idea that Miss Cox is so desperate to be a parent, and that this law could cause her to lose her ability to be a parent, is shocking, and a real miscarriage of justice,” Gamble told Today Assignment
Cox was seen wiping away tears as Gamble gave his verdict. Guerra Gamble’s order has already been processed. A temporary injunction prohibiting the implementation of any Texas abortion laws, including SB8 which allows private citizens to sue any anyone who assists in having an abortion will be valid until December 20th.
The ruling came in the first public case of a woman sued for an abortion since Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal overnight asking the Texas Supreme Court to immediately block the restraining order, writing that “time is of the essence.”
“Every hour it lasts is an hour the Plaintiff believes they are free to perform and perform an elective abortion,” the filing states. “Nothing can restore the life of the unborn child that will be lost as a result.”
A response filed by the Centers for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Cox called the state’s request “astounding in its disregard for Ms. Cox’s life, fertility, and the law.”
Cox is currently carrying a pregnancy with almost no chance of the baby — who has trisomy 18 — surviving at birth or beyond. at last. She said she was unable to perform the safest abortion care for her – dilation and abortion. CRR will not say when or where Cox plans to receive her abortion care because of safety concerns.
In an interview the night before the verdict, Cox told ABC News’ Rachel Scott that she was shocked to hear from her doctor that she couldn’t get the care she wanted in Texas.
“We’re grieving the loss of a child. There’s no consequence here that causes us to take home a well-rested baby girl. So it’s hard. It’s overwhelming,” Cox said.
“I asked my doctor, you know, the best, how much time he thought we would have with him. And he said, ‘Maybe an hour. Maybe a week,’ but we had to prepare ourselves to put this. baby in the hospital. There was no treatment. So it was very difficult,” said Cox.
Cox said she “really wants” a chance to have another baby and grow her family.
“I’m a Texan. I love Texas. I’m raising my kids here. I grew up here. I’ve built my academic career, my professional career here. You know, I plan to stay. And so I want to be able to have access to the medical care I need, and my daughter to have it,” Cox said.
Johnathan Stone, with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, argued in court that Cox had not proven that he would suffer “sudden and irreparable injuries” and recommended that another hearing be granted. with some evidence.
He said under state law doctors can use “reasonable medical judgment” in issuing an emergency intervention to protect a woman’s life in danger, but it appears that Cox did not meet that criteria.
Duane said the situation could not be achieved without harming a woman.
“The state is trying to second guess Miss Cox and say she is not sick enough,” said Duane. “They have moved the goalposts again. Now the patient must die before the doctor can rely on an exemption. This situation is not only cruel and dangerous, but it flies in the face of Texas. Constitution, medical practice and the law itself.”
At the post-verdict conference, Duane said they were “satisfied” with the judge’s decision against Cox.
“Every day of this incident has been very painful for him and today he finally gets to know that he has the right to the health care he needs,” said Duane.
Cox didn’t consider moving to another state because he was in the middle of a health crisis and was worried about his condition, according to Duane. When he got a search for his baby, the CRR was just in court against his claim on the Texas ban, so he reached out to them, according to Duane.
After Cox’s court victory, the Texas attorney general warned that abortion doctors could enough to be sued by private citizens.
Under Texas law, it is a second-degree felony to perform or attempt an abortion, punishable by life in prison and a fine. not more than $10,000. The law also allows private citizens to prosecute anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
Paxton also threatened to come after the hospitals’ licenses.
In a letter to hospitals, he said the restraining order “will not intimidate you or anyone else.”
The trial was held in the 459th District Court of Travis County in Austin, and it was about half an hour before the decision was issued.
Cox’s claim stands apart from a complaints filed by 20 women who say their lives are in danger because of the Texas abortion ban.
That suit is before the Texas Supreme Court for a decision on whether the challenge can continue and if a temporary stay on the ban on cases of fetal distress and medical emergencies can be enforced. .
CRR declined to say whether Cox has plans to continue pursuing a legal case or whether he is considering joining the next lawsuit as a plaintiff.
Texas has several abortion bans that carry severe penalties for violations.
The Texas ban includes exceptions to allow abortions in cases of medical emergency and fetal death, but doctors and patients say, in another lawsuit filed in March, they cannot provide care or lack of maintenance, under the law.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.