In a high-profile abortion case in Texas, Kate Cox filed a lawsuit seeking the right to terminate her high-risk pregnancy due to a rare genetic condition known as trisomy 18 in her preborn child. This condition carries a significant risk, as only 50% of babies carried to term are born alive, and the majority of them do not survive beyond the first year.

The legal backdrop involves a Texas law that prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Despite the challenging circumstances, Cox's legal battle gained national attention when the Texas Supreme Court ruled against her after she left the state to pursue the abortion procedure. Trisomy 18 often leads to miscarriage or stillbirth, and Cox argued that the law was too vague to determine the legality of her abortion under her specific circumstances.

It was clarified that a pregnant woman in Texas does not require a court order for a life-saving abortion. The court emphasized that its ruling did not prevent a life-saving abortion in Cox's case if a physician determined its necessity under the appropriate legal standard, using reasonable medical judgment.

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The Remnant's Response

We have already given one response to this tragic story. We have also written about how those involved with leading others astray use deceptive speech (Jeremiah 9:8) and cleverly devised tales to secure others to join them. This story has been no different. The Dallas Morning News originally used this headline, "Kat Cox flees state to get an abortion," as if she was being held captive by an oppressive government and had to make a heroic escape to terminate the life of her child. (it was later amended on DMN's home page, but the original story and headline still run in other papers across the country). The Kanas City Star described the "anti-life cruelty forcing Kate Cox to flee Texas." The Washington Post headlined, "Texas woman…leaves the state for a procedure," and the Center for Reproductive Rights, the organization representing Mrs. Cox in this case, said she "couldn't wait any longer for abortion care." When the taking of a life is reduced to a "procedure," and assisting a mother in the termination of her child is "care," we have a problem. 

A necessary reminder that Mrs. Cox is clearly suffering in the midst of the tragic diagnosis she and her husband received in the midst of this wanted pregnancy, and as such, is deserving of our compassion, prayer, and kindness (Colossians 1:9-10; Romans 12:15 ) is that the remnant needs to be constantly on the alert to the reality that words can be weaponized to desensitize us (2 Corinthians 2:11 ). The psalmist reminds us that the words of ungodly are "are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil." (Psalm 36:3-4) and so we are encouraged to be constantly alert, standing firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13 ). 

The DMN and Kansas City Stary stories, and others like them, make it sound as if Mrs. Cox was a runaway slave being sought after by dogs and 'patrollers' (slave slang for wicked bands of men who patrolled, sought, captured, and tortured men and woman seeking to escape the horrors of the slave trade) and was in danger for her life if she didn't make it out of Texas. While that is compelling in its imagery, to say the least, it is false at its core and intentional in its effect. It's important to state plainly: Texas's abortion law includes an exception for the life of the mother. In Kate Cox's specific case, her doctors have not concluded that her situation meets the criteria outlined in Texas law for exceptions. In Texas, it is not legally justified to intentionally terminate the life of her 20-week-old preborn child due to these heartbreaking circumstances.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest men of the 20th century, once asserted, "The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children." Bonhoeffer's life exemplified this principle, as he willingly sacrificed his very existence for those in his society who were unwanted and undervalued. In doing so, he embodied the biblical call to "be advocates for those unable to speak for themselves" (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Some of our trusted close friends, Daniel and Kelly Crawford, have lived through similar heartache and, having been "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience" (Colossians 1:11 ), now serve others as they "comfort them with the comfort with which they have been comforted" (2 Corinthians 1:4). We encourage you to familiarize yourself with their story and especially encourage you to support them in their important work to help families like the Cox's by going here. It is not enough to make laws; we must personally engage with the hurting and support those who set themselves apart to care for women faced with an unwanted pregnancy or families facing a likely fatal diagnosis. Our friend Rick Smith has an incredible ministry advocating for children and serving families who received an in-utero diagnosis of Down Syndrome. You can learn more about his team's amazing work and how you can support them here. The remnant doesn't just advocate for life with words but also with work and generosity. These two ministries are among favorites that assist us in fulfilling God's calling on our lives to care for both the emotional and physical needs of the mother and the protection of the children in and out of the womb whenever possible. Join us.