Response To Second Attack on Texas Protective Abortion Laws by the Center for Reproductive Rights

Yesterday, the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a second lawsuit attacking Texas' protective abortion laws, seeking a court to block enforcement of the laws in a case involving a woman whose unborn child has been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a condition which sadly is often fatal for the child before or soon after birth. The case, Cox v. Texas, is currently in a Travis County state district court. This follows a similar case brought by the CRR, Zurawski v. Texas, now pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

At issue in both cases is whether the exceptions defined in the pre-Roe law, the Texas Heartbeat Act, and the Human Life Protection Act -- which allow a doctor to perform an abortion in the rare cases when a pregnancy endangers a mother's life or poses a significant risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function, but do not allow abortions when the baby has a fatal illness -- violate the Texas Constitution.

"It is heartbreaking to hear of any family facing a tragic diagnosis for their unborn child," said Amy O'Donnell, Texas Alliance for Life's Communications Director. "At the same time, Texas Alliance for Life does not support taking the life of an unborn child because of a life-limiting or fatal diagnosis."

"The Center for Reproductive Rights' goal is for the courts to chisel away at the protections for unborn babies under the guise of 'clarifying' the law until elective abortion is legal up to birth," added O'Donnell. "We believe that the exception language in Texas laws is clear. Doctors can exercise reasonable medical judgment to provide abortions in those rare cases involving risk to the mother's life. Whether a particular case qualifies for that exception is an objective medical determination the physicians involved can make."

In the Zurawski case, Texas Alliance for Life submitted an amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court) brief on behalf of 92 members of the Texas Legislature, making the point that nowhere in the state constitution is there a right to abortion.

Deirdre Cooper, a public policy analyst for Texas Alliance for Life, gave astatement about her son Bosco, who died before birth from Trisomy 18. "Carrying Bosco in my womb was the greatest honor of my life," she said. "For four months, I had the privilege of sharing his story with anyone who asked about my pregnancy. Each day, I woke up thanking God that Bosco was still alive. We had been granted one more day with him -- what a blessing! It also allowed us to plan his funeral and prepare our children for his impending death."