Florida must show compassion for women who face high-risk pregnancies
A judge in Texas recently ruled that Kate Cox and her husband should be allowed to terminate her pregnancy at 20 weeks because of a fetal genetic abnormality completely incompatible with life.
Because of the serious pregnancy complications, which have also put her life in jeopardy, Cox has had to make multiple emergency room visits. In addition, Cox’s future ability to have children is also at risk. The judge considered these factors and ruled that Cox should be able to terminate the pregnancy as an exception to a very strict, but also very vague, law in Texas.
That should have been the end of the story. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
That’s because the Texas Supreme Court subsequently ruled to reverse the lower court judge’s decision and block Kate’s right to terminate the pregnancy. Cox has since left the state to receive the health care she needs elsewhere.
The bottom line is the case of Kate Cox should have never reached this point. She was trying to receive health care that she and her husband had chosen to undertake – and which had been recommended by a physician as a life-saving step for Cox, who is already a mother of two. The ruling by the Texas Supreme Court to deny Cox that right was medieval in nature, and it has surely had an impact on both her mental and overall health.
The decision of any woman on whether to continue a pregnancy should and must be a personal one. It should and must be a decision driven by the woman’s own religious beliefs and spirituality. Who are we – and that “we” includes politicians and judges – to interfere with her decision?
Sadly, while Cox’s case may be the first of its kind, it won’t be the last. It is occurring in a state that provides an extremely limited allowance for abortion after six weeks, but other states – including Florida – are seeking to go down that same path.
As a physician who for many years has counseled similar patients in difficult and tragic situations, it is clear to me that women like Kate Cox – and the people around them who deeply love them – should not have to go through this back-and-forth drama.
They should receive the medical care they need and, equally important, the simple compassion they deserve.
Washington Hill is a longtime Sarasota obstetrician-gynecologist and maternal-fetal medicine specialist who has cared for high-risk pregnancies for more than 30 years.