Kate Cox, who previously filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas after being denied an emergency abortion, has announced that she is pregnant again. Cox shared this news during a campaign event in Maryland on Monday, where she was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris. Together, they called for the restoration of abortion access in Texas.
In December 2023, Cox took legal action against the state of Texas after she was denied an abortion despite her fetus receiving a fatal diagnosis. Texas is among 14 states that have enacted near-total abortion bans. While the state does allow certain exceptions, the law is so restrictive and vaguely worded that doctors and women have expressed in court their fear of potential criminal charges, making physicians hesitant to perform abortions.
Cox, a mother of two, had undergone caesarean sections in her previous pregnancies. In August, she discovered she was pregnant for a third time and, several weeks later, was informed that her baby was at high risk for trisomy 18. This condition carries a high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and has low survival rates. According to her lawsuit, doctors advised Cox that if her baby’s heartbeat stopped, inducing labor would pose a risk of uterine rupture due to her prior caesarean sections. Additionally, another caesarean at full term could jeopardize her ability to carry future pregnancies.
In court, Cox argued that she should be permitted to have an abortion as her doctor had deemed it necessary to protect her health and future fertility. “Kate Cox needs an abortion, and she needs it now,” the lawsuit stated. However, the Texas Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Cox, compelling her to leave the state to obtain an abortion.
At the campaign event, Cox poignantly shared her experience. “Wanted, prayed-for pregnancy sometimes ends in abortion,” she stated. She described the growing risks to her health and future pregnancies with each passing minute she remained pregnant. Recalling her doctor’s assessment, she described it as “the most painful thing” she had ever been told.
Amid cheers and applause, Cox revealed, “Today, I am happy to share that I’m pregnant again.” She announced that she is due in January and expressed her hope that, by then, “it will be a world led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.” She also took the opportunity to thank Biden and Harris for their tireless efforts in advocating for reproductive rights, urging voters to “restore our reproductive rights” in the upcoming November elections.
Cox’s announcement coincided with the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide. Since the ban on the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., several states, including Indiana and North Dakota, have implemented total bans on the procedure. Additionally, South Carolina bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, while North Carolina and Nebraska enforce bans after 12 weeks.
In total, 14 states have enacted near-total abortion bans, reflecting a significant shift in reproductive rights across the nation.
