A brief filing of Cox and Gamble arguing that abortion is illegal in the state with a very limited exception to a preterm birth

The petition said that Cox was qualified for an abortion because she risked her future fertility if she carried the baby to term. “If she has to be induced, there is a risk of uterine rupture,” Cox lawyer Molly Duane told NPR. There is a chance that she will not be able to try again for more children in the future if she has another c-section.

She had already been in the emergency room three times with cramping and other concerning symptoms, according to court documents. She has since been to the emergency room at least one additional time, her lawyer said. She was told by her doctors that she was at risk of developing diabetes and hypertension. She has two children already and carrying the pregnancy to term could jeopardize her future chances of having a third child, as she had two prior cesarean sections, the brief says.

The filing asked Judge Maya Guerra Gamble to allow the abortion to be performed in the state, where abortion is banned with very limited exceptions. On Dec 7, District Court Judge Gamble made a decision that the abortion should be allowed.

In this case, Paxton argues in his letter to hospitals that Cox did not meet the standard laid out in the medical exception. Her petition to the court “fails to identify what ‘life-threatening’ medical condition that Ms. Cox purportedly has that is aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy, nor does it state with specificity how this unidentified condition places Ms. Cox at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”

There are three separate abortion bans in Texas. Abortion is illegal in the state from the moment pregnancy begins. The law says that Texas doctors can only offer abortions if a patient is in danger of death or a serious risk of impairment of a major bodily function.

The case of Kate Cox, a 38-year-old mother of two who was born prematurely inferred from her medical history and referred to as a major bodily function

Doctors, hospitals and lawyers have asked for clarity on what “serious risk” of a major bodily function entails, and the Texas attorney general’s office has held that the language is clear.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has repeatedly asserted that the exception language is vague and confusing for doctors and hospitals charged with making these calls, which is why it petitioned the court on Cox’s behalf.

Women were denied medically urgent abortions for pregnanciesgone dangerously awry when the Supreme Court overturned Wade last year. In response, the anti-abortion movement developed a sort of conspiracy theory to rationalize away the results of their policies.

The case in Texas shows how absurd the argument is and whether it was genuine denial or a cynical desire to deceive. Late last month, Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, learned that her latest, much-wanted pregnancy was doomed due to a severe genetic disorder. If the pregnancy continued, she was likely to have a stillbirth, and if she didn’t, the baby had virtually no chance of surviving long outside the womb.