Texas Supreme Court Denies Woman's Abortion Request for Medical Emergency

The Texas Supreme Court has overturned a lower court's ruling that would have allowed a pregnant woman, Kate Cox, to obtain an emergency abortion under the medical exception for the state's near-total abortion ban. The court granted a petition by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, stating that Cox did not meet the criteria for a medical exception. Cox's fetus was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality that usually results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or death soon after birth. The case is seen as a major test of the scope of the medical exception under Texas law, which allows an abortion to save the mother's life or prevent substantial impairment of a major bodily function.