Plaintiff in key abortion case forced to leave Texas
Plus, Trump insiders have leaked potential VP and cabinet picks.
WHAT YOU MISSED
Over the weekend, the Texas Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed a Texas resident to receive an abortion. According to her legal representatives at the Center for Reproductive Rights, Kate Cox, who sued the state after learning that the fetuses inside of her would have deadly, congenital birth defects, was forced to leave the state to have the procedure performed.
An emergency C-section to remove the twins inside Cox could have compromised her ability to have children in the future, according to her doctors.
“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 Center explained today on X (formerly Twitter).
The threat of Cox’s future fertility was a key reason behind the lower court’s ruling. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble also expressed concerns long held by abortion rights activists that the state’s medical exemptions were vague and imprecise. As such, Gamble granted Cox a two-week restraining order on Texas’ incredibly restrictive abortion bans.
Following Thursday's initial ruling in favor of Cox, Paxton said in a statement that the decision would "not insulate hospitals, doctors, or anyone else, from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas’ abortion laws."
Paxton’s petition to the Texas Supreme Court seemed designed to not only override a ruling he saw as unfavorable (and could create legal precedent) but as a way to punish Cox specifically: The 31-year-old mother from Dallas is 20 weeks pregnant and needed to have the abortion performed as soon as possible.
Axios is reporting that Trump’s list of potential vice president candidates could include a who's who of right-wing weirdos.
In terms of elected officials, reactionary populists like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have been floated as possibilities by Trump insiders. Kari Lake, who unsuccessfully sought the governorship in Arizona, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have also been mentioned.
Despite having quietly criticized Trump behind closed doors, Melania Trump has advocated for Carlson’s selection because she believes he “would make a powerful onstage extension of her husband.”
In terms of his cabinet, Trump has discussed selecting anti-immigration zealot Stephen Miller for attorney general, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) to head the Pentagon and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon for the Treasury.