Texas Woman Forced to Flee the State After Court-Approved Abortion is Blocked by AG Ken Paxton

A Texas woman has been forced to flee the state to receive life-saving healthcare after Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed a lower court's order granting her an abortion, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Kate Cox, 31, of Dallas, Texas, is 20 weeks pregnant with a fetus that has been diagnosed with full trisomy, a fatal condition that not only threatens the mother's future fertility but also her life.

On Monday, the Center for Reproductive Rights announced that she has left the state to obtain necessary healthcare.

"After a week of legal whiplash and threats of prosecution from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, our client Kate Cox has been forced to flee her home state of Texas to get the time-sensitive abortion care needed to protect her health and future fertility," the tweet read.

Last Thursday, a Travis County judge granted a stay, which allowed Cox to receive an abortion. However, within hours of the ruling, Paxton sent a letter threatening prosecution against healthcare workers and hospitals in the state.

The Republican attorney general then appealed the ruling to the state's conservative supreme court, which blocked the lower court's order on Friday. This effectively put Cox's time-sensitive healthcare needs on hold while the Texas Supreme Court mulled over Paxton's request.

All the while the mother-of-two, who said she and her husband desperately wanted the child, was forced to continue the pregnancy. Cox has already made several trips to the emergency room but due to state law, has been sent home without medical care.

Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, condemned Paxton and the Texas Supreme Court for playing "legal limbo" with Cox's dire situation.

"This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate. Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer. This is why judges and politicians should not be making healthcare decisions for pregnant people," Northup was quoted in a follow-up tweet.

"This is the result of the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade: women are forced to beg for urgent healthcare in court. Kate's case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant people, and exceptions don’t work."

"Kate desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence."

Further complicating the devastating situation for Cox and her family are the state's bounty laws, which Paxton referenced in his scathing letter to healthcare providers.

In Texas, private citizens are allowed to file a civil lawsuit against anyone who knowingly "aides or abets" in the facilitation of an abortion. In other words, citizens are allowed to sue those who help women like Cox obtain an abortion.

Cox's case also follows one of the largest abortion travel bans adopted in the state. In late October, Lubbock County became the fourth in the state to adopt an order that bans pregnant women from traveling through unincorporated areas to obtain an abortion in another state, according to the Texas Tribune.