'I would have died in court trying to fight': Texas Supreme Court hears abortion rights case 

Doctors are leaving states like Texas because of these laws. No one wants to make these difficult choices because a cruel law is in place where you have to choose one life over another or you will go to jail.

One of Louisiana's Few Pediatric Cardiologists Leaves the State Due to Anti-LGBTQ Law.

what woman would want to even live in Texas?

Get Big Republican Government out of people's bedrooms!

No fault divorce is gonna be a high on their check list. They want control. They want to Rule You, not Represent You.

An accountant friend of mine left NC with her family to work in Austin then two years later got a contract in England & left.

They've been trying to take women's rights away in Texas for decades.

Actually it’s the Democrats that want to take away bodily autonomy, seeing as abortion is not applicable to bodily autonomy whatsoever. Last I checked you people wanted to force inoculations, force others to wear masks that have no effect on viral transmission, cancel those who speak out against the liberal agenda, push puberty blockers on children, make it a crime to use incorrect pronouns, force small businesses to close so you can riot in the streets with no consequences, and decriminalize p3do.

It almost sounds as if you are Anti Abortion. RoeVwade was perfect because it allowed for both sides to agree that a baby begins in the 2nd Trimester. If you are anti abortion....try donating your time and money to the orphanages and starving children that exist in the hundreds of thousands across America.

As a US Army Veteran and Christian, I could never understand how conservitives and christians think they have the right to shove thier beliefs down the throats of others who have different beliefs!! It's not Christ-like behavior!! It's pretty simple, if your against abortion then don't get or have one! No one is forcing anyone to get an abortion! But stripping that right to away from others who have different beliefs IS WRONG! We are a nation of many different people with many different types of belief and no one form of belief is superior to anyone else's..just different!! FREEDOM=CHOICE!!

@@garykubodera9528 I agree! Thank you for your service!

@@garykubodera9528 I’ll say you are ignorant of what this means.. can you imagine being a local person voting for your best local interests? Because what’s the adverse of that? 🤔

@@garykubodera9528 oh Gary.. 🥹 I really, REALLY wanted to believe you but after seeing your copy and paste comments everywhere I have to question your liberal tactics.. nice try tho 😂

I can remember when women couldn’t get a bank loan, even though they had jobs, unless their husbands signed for her. I can also remember when I was told I couldn’t get my tubes tied without my husband’s permission. This was in the 1990s in Tennessee.

I’m 72 and in my lifetime, a woman in med school could not get a grade higher than a C from some profs even though she aced all the tests.

Pretty sure the judge was simply highlighting the stupidity of the state's argument back to them for clarification on what they were asking from the court.

He was trying to clarify what the state’s position is.

@@buchor9455they are all conservative judges and I think he believes that the law could be challenged by having doctors get sued for not performing medically necessary abortions. I agree with that. I don’t like the Texas law, but it’s the game everybody is stuck playing in Texas, and one way to play the game is to challenge the law, and it can in fact be challenged by women suing doctors for not performing medically necessary abortions. Of course, doctors are afraid of prosecution if they do perform the abortions, but that’s the problem and it should be accurately reported. Doctors need to leave Texas and work elsewhere, or stay in Texas and prioritize the patient and risk prosecution.

Why is this horrible?

Agreed, horrible

Imagine if you actually knew what overturning Roe meant 🤯

@@sergeant_salty Sergeant Salty, as a real Staff Sergeant, I'd like to tell you to stop being a snowflake melting down because of criticism of your failures as a party. Go back to your bunk. You need a nap crybaby.

@@sergeant_saltyNo little “man” you cry. Your cause is losing across the country and this will make pro choice the law of the lamd

Once all states make their decisions on abortion issue. The abortion issue will be over. Off the table. You idiots will not be able to use it as a issue anymore.

​@@markhutton7593 Wrong, because denying citizens access to Best Practices Medical Care is not a legitimate state power.

🎯 That is an understatement!!

🤣 You make that statement and actually don’t know what overturning Roe means.. don’t you enjoy voting for your best interests? Unbelievable

​@@markhutton7593The constitutional protections afforded by the Roe decision were reaffirmed many times over the 50 years period it stood (until it was arbitrarily overturned by a Court stacked by The Heritage Foundation via Trump). Dobbs won't last.

Family court judges have to make truly terrible decisions absolutely all the time. It is nowhere near an easy job, and they have a huge amount of my respect for what they do. A judge _may_ weigh in when it comes to life and death decisions parents make on behalf of their children! Sometimes parents do not make the best decisions, and it is actually a family court judge's _job_ to intervene when this happens. A judge may _not_ use the welfare of those children to enslave their parents. In no other instance is the welfare of one person used as a pretext to enslave another, only in the enslavement of Women to give birth against their will. This is an open and obvious violation of the 13th Amendment, and should be treated as such by our media and by society in general.

Then why are politicians writing medical laws?

Trump-appointed judges are assaulting reproductive rights, voting rights, gun safety, environmental protections, workers' rights, and much more.

Because they believe those stories are 'too good to be true'

@@NoirChloe Well, they are true. Been there, done that.

Most are women beyond child bearing years.........

@@billyyank5807 1) No 2) Makes no difference.

They do not give a ish. They don't care about blacks, women, elderly, workers, kids, babies or unborn babies. The only thing they really care about is power and money. They are not bothered about the rest of you or weather you live or die. You are nothing to them. They will continue to press laws upon you all to maximize their own chances of taking power.

When all states make their decisions on abortion issue. The abortion issue will be over. Off the table on a national level. You idiots will not be able to use it as a national issue anymore. Enjoy!

​@@markhutton7593It's still a national issue when republicans are attempting to make it illegal nationwide.

As a US Army Veteran and Christian, I could never understand how conservitives and christians think they have the right to shove thier beliefs down the throats of others who have different beliefs!! It's not Christ-like behavior!! It's pretty simple, if your against abortion then don't get or have one! No one is forcing anyone to get an abortion! But stripping that right to away from others who have different beliefs IS WRONG! We are a nation of many different people with many different types of belief and no one form of belief is superior to anyone else's..just different!! FREEDOM=CHOICE!!

@@garykubodera9528 Abortion issue is a states rights issue. If you don't like it. Go convince state Legislators in all 50 states to allow abortion. Very simple. Good luck with that.

​@@markhutton7593It's a constitutional and human right.

@REALTRUTH2525 The beginning of Matthew 7 may be relevant. Also, remember "win the argument, lose the soul". What's the aim? To add people to God's Kingdom, or to shame them?

​@REALTRUTH2525you do know that Christians conducted genocide, holicaust, inquisitions and crusades killing millions of people.

​@REALTRUTH2525God killed every first born in Egypt. A baby per the Bible isnt considered a person til month on this earth. Jesus said if people didnt want to here your message then to turn away. Then there's this little thing called free will. God supposedly gave it to humans, but his humans feel they have the right to take said free will away from others. Age of accountability, if babies/kids die and go to heaven... are you selfish or jealous? Are you mad babies /kids arent being made to suffer here on earth? Why would one block someone from the bosom of god youre trying to get to when you die? This is what makes the Christian push so unintelligible... it's so different than what your book says.

​@REALTRUTH2525It is as you say. Life is a precious gift from God. That also includes the life of the mother - was her life also not a precious gift from God? Why be in such a rush to throw it away then? By saying a woman can't get a medically necessary abortion to save her own life you are throwing away the value of her life already established here on earth. If she has already living children would you take their mother from them to possibly save their sibling? Seems like an impossible choice - which is why it should be left to the mother and the medical professionals overseeing her care. Choice is important. Apologies, I'm not the person you asked, but I am a believer of God. Hope I'm not overstepping with my comment here. :)

@REALTRUTH2525 cause the original poster understands that his beliefs don’t entitle him to coerce anyone else based on them. Faith is a private matter, not a matter of public policy - or it should be unless you’re perfectly cool with the Taliban and their ilk.

Every woman is different

@@meahdahlgren5875 Every woman/girl should have the right to make her own decision about her body, what risks she wants to take or not and what it means to her future. Yes, a lot of women make the decision to have children for their own reasons and no one is forced to abort a pregnancy that they have chosen to go forward with. But forcing anyone to go forward with a potential risk of their life is a crime against all women and girls. Choice is paramount.

@@meahdahlgren5875 The USA has one of the highest rates of Maternal Mortality in the first world and it's rising. The maternal mortality rate for 2021 was 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with a rate of 23.8 in 2020 and 20.1 in 2019. Obviously, these laws to restrict abortion rights are causing DEATHS of women.

Yes. One normally does not have the right to physically force themselves or their ideas onto another so this idea of stopping females from their liberty is odd

The fetus has a body. Does the fetus have a choice?

​@@RC-qf3mpNO

​@@RC-qf3mp The fetus has no will and can't survive without the woman. When the fetus can't even survive after 9 months why should women have to die to carry a corpse? These women were traumatized, some nearly died. Why force women to carry fetuses that aren't even viable? Why do they have to go to the store and be congratulated, asked what gender it is only to have to say its will die at birth? It's cruel and inhumane.

@@minisnakali I’m pro choice, but not for the reason that is giving in the OP (“Her body. Her choice.”). That argument fails because the counterargument is that the fetus has a body too. If a fetus “can’t even survive after 9 months”, then I assume you think a newborn, still attached to the umbilical cord, could be killed the mother or a doctor, and that would be ok, just as you condone abortion, right? Since it “can’t even survive after 9 months”. Same for 1 year olds all the way up to however old you think a child could live all by itself without a mother. Of course, some other person, like another breastfeeding woman, could replace the mother. But that’s also true of an embryo which could be impacted into another woman. So now that argument fails you b/c something far younger than 9 months can survive without this particular mother. I’m pro-choice, but I’m also pro-rationality and neither you nor the OP has given a rational argument defending WHY you think abortion is more ally and legally permissible. So no, I’m not forcing women to carry fetuses that aren’t even viable. I’m not forcing them to carry nonviable fetuses either. When it comes to Cox though, there was no guarantee that the fetus would die in her womb. It had a chance to live, just like Santorum’s 15 year old daughter with trisomy 15. Cox just didn’t want a special needs baby. Which is fine, and her choice, and I’d support her choice legally to have an abortion. But the OP’s argument “Her body. Her choice” doesn’t accomplish what she wants b/c the fetus has a body too. This is why arguments based on “rights’ tend to go nowhere because rights can compete with each other. If the fetus were to actually die in the womb, then I’d agree it would be cruel and inhumane to force a woman to carry it. It could also be argued that it’s improper transfer of a corpse. I care about the law and logical thinking. The OP’s argument, and yours, are not logical arguments b/c they contradict themselves and fail to adequately account for the fetus’ as a living human being.

Your sexism is on display along with your tears lol

You just assumed the judges gender.. you should be locked up!

oh whoa here she comes - she’s a man-hater

@@SpaceBethC131and what gender carries babies? Also, change your profile name and picture. The creators of that show actively hate people like you.

​@@SpaceBethC131Thank you for talking sense into this individual

Yep...Welcome to Gilead. "Under His Eye"

No, the doctor should perform a medically necessary abortion under the exemption. If the doctor doesn’t perform one soon enough, the doctor should get sued for malpractice. After enough of these suits, doctors will wake up and do their jobs.

​@@RC-qf3mpNo, the law says doctors can't do that. Doctors legally cannot perform abortions safely because the law isn't clear and the state itself is actively hunting anyone involved in abortions. It is not the fault of doctors that the legislature doesn't give women the right to an abortion then the fetus isn't viable or unless she's actively dying. In court the state's attorney said women needed to sue while deathly ill to have an abortion. Don't try to pin the fault on doctors when they have no power in the situation.

@@minisnakali False, according to the Texas Health & Human Services website, about 50 such medically exempt abortions were performed in 2023. That refutes your claim that “doctors legally cannot perform abortions safely because….” And none of those doctors got prosecuted or “hunted”. You are right that it’s not the doctor’s fault what the legislature does, but the issue here is what the law actually says, and you and the OP and many others do not seem to understand what the law says (and yes, it’s a stupid law, but stupid isn’t necessarily “unconstitutional” - I’m just agreeing that I’m personally pro choice but also care about legal reasoning and analysis here). It’s true that in Texas the mere lack of “viability” of a fetus is not sufficient for getting an abortion after the fetal heartbeat is detected. It is not true that the woman has to be actively dying to get an abortion. The law is that a doctor may use his or her “reasonable medical judgment” in determining the risk of life to the mother or risk of serious harm to a major bodily function. A court clarified what all attorneys know by this legal language - most decisions most doctors make most of the time are “reasonable”. So only a doctor who is clearly flouting the rules as an abortionist activist, or maybe a doctor being bribed, would be deemed “unreasonable” by a jury or judge. It’s a very low bar to cross. But the real issue that remains in that a doctor who does NOT perform a medically necessary abortion is breaching the duty of care doctors have to patience, ie., committing malpractice. You are confusing ordinary morality of who is at “fault” with the legal concept of “liability”. Of course doctors didn’t write the law, Texan lawmakers did with authority from Texas voters. Blame all them. But doctors also have duties as doctors under the law and ethically, and if a doctor waits to long and the patient dies, the doctor can, will and should be sued. that’s not “pinning the fault on the doctors” it’s me correctly analyzing what the law entails. Doctors who don’t like this can and should leave Texas. that will be extreme short-term pain for pregnant Texas women, but it will also be long-term gain b/c that kind of suffering will spark legislative change even among conservatives. So more doctors need to get sued, so more doctors leave and more doctors perform medically necessary abortions. The alternative to what i suggest (which is just civil action within the law) is to wait and hope-and-pray that one day Texas lawmakers change the law. I’d rather speed up the process. Also, women can still demand their doctor’s perform medically necessary abortions, and THEN leave the state, and THEN sue the Texas doctor for the extra pain and suffering they experienced for the time, money and travel delays to go out of state. The out of state doctor can testify that the abortion performed was medically necessary against the Texas doctor who says “no it wasn’t” or, more likely, who says “I don’t know what the law means because it’s too vague”. Then constitutional challenges can ensue and maybe the law, or parts of the law, will be ruled unenforceable, or the concept of a “reasonable medical decision” will be more forcefully clarified as what the Texas Supreme Court said in oral argument (and i think in the Cox opinion, i forget) that MOST medical decisions by doctors MOST of the time are “reasonable.” Of course they are. “Reasonable” standards are common in various areas of the law. That’s nothing new. The problem isn’t the vagueness of the law…it’s not that vague. The problem is the punishment to doctors which is extreme, and potentially unconstitutional. But that’s a VERY different argument. It’s one thing to say that the jaywalking law is vague, because people could take a half-step over the line, but if the punishment for breaking that law were 99 years in jail, well, nobody would jay walk if that were vigorously enforced. Imagine if there were video cameras everywhere trying to enforce the law. Still, it would be a horrible law with severe punishment, but it’s weak and wrong to say the problem with the law is that it’s “vague”. It’s not vague, the problem is the PUNISHMENT. And that’s what’s happening here and doctors who complain about the vagueness are just being lazy and dishonest. More accurately, these doctors are saying what their lawyers are telling them to say, because it sounds better (it helps defend the doctor from malpractice lawsuits). So your last sentence is wrong as well- the doctors aren’t at fault for the creation of the law, but they are at fault for not FOLLOWING the law when the law not only permits they perform medically exempt abortions, but tort law DEMANDS that the perform when the mother’s life is at risk (or risk of major bodily harm). Malpractice (a tort) is part of the law too. Doctors have the power to perform medically exempt abortions. They have the power to leave Texas as well. Patients have the power to sue all doctors who don’t perform medically exempt abortions. All these actions will help change the stupid Texas law.

That's a bit different isn't it, a miscarrage, takes away any choice to have the child or not.

​​@lestonthompson8495 Have u had a miscarriage? Have you been pregnant with a child that doctors have said would live but hours and would have lived in horrifying pain? Have you ever been pregnant?

@lestonthompson8495 Jilia is not equating abortion and miscarriage. Abortions and miscarriages are both dealt with by using the same medication, so if you ban it for one procedure, it becomes difficult to get for the other. There are already doctors afraid to help in situations of miscarriage, because it could look the same as an abortion.

@@ZeKiwiOfTheNorth Miscarrage and abortion are different. Miscarrages can't be helped they happen without a docters help. Abortion need a doctors help, am I wrong? Tubaligation does away with the abortion issue, plus it puts the decission on whether a women wants to have children or not to have children back in the womens hands so she makes the decission.

​@@lestonthompson8495Miscarriage and abortion are the exact same thing and are treated the exact same way.

Indeed. It's utterly ridiculous and diabolical.

He might if he will have tge courage and money for that. But lets be honest - who will?! After paying the hospitals, the funeral, the nurses to help you adapt to taking care of a newborn, the babysitters if you have to get back to work as soon as possible...? I think USA already has such cases, its just that the remaining families have no time nor money to sue

@@NoirChloewrong. Lawyers make too much money off malpractice to not sue when they have the opportunity. And you don’t need to wait for the woman to die. Go out of state, get the abortion, then sue any doctor who rejected you for medical care and that you argue was entitled to you under the Texas medical exemption law.

You seem like you don’t want to “analyse” anything because you’re warped by raw emotion and averse to rational thought. The law is dispassionate. As are courts. If you want the law changed, bring facts and logic with you and leave your emotions at the door.

That makes no sense, grandpa

Exactly! Can't you see the deceitful, devilish, smile on Alito's face when he finished writing his final opinion against every woman in America! I can.

@@sergeant_salty yeah it does, but it is not for YOU to decide, that will be the courts.

@@DaleHartley and when the courts don't do what you want you'll threaten the judges and talk about how much you hate America. Seen it all before.

Well said bt!!

The only good Paxton from Texas is no longer with us.

Hear hear

An unrelated yet true statement.

It's classic republican slight of hand. They declare that they aren't taking away a womans right to choose but they're just adding some rules to it. Then the rules are so vague and unclear that no one knows what they're allowed to do. The deception and cruelty are features, not bugs.

Then why aren't women signing up to be judges just so ya'll can get these cases and judge them unbiased? Stop complaining If you aren't doing anything to help. Go sign up. Why aren't more women signing up? Because ya'll don't want that job. So until ya'll sign up just be quiet....or else go sign up.

I was thinking the same in 1991 when Anita Hill was looking at a panel of white males. She should have asked them what do you see in front of you? Because all she saw where men

@@billyyank5807 Several people already answered your ignorant comment. Go troll elsewhere.

or whether they can get a prescription for Viagra without asking their wives???

@@deborahrivera6064 One hears commercials for generic viagra. So it is ok to advertise for men to get help with erectile dysfunction / erections but what about the results when they use those erections? I don't think there is tax on Viagra either. If a man has erectile dysfunction then it is life. Hard luck. If you excuse the pun.

If women got tubaligations, wouldn'f that bypass the Texas politicians?

@@lestonthompson8495 those are almost impossible to get.

So you’re mad that Texas doesn’t follow your views? 🤣

@@ladylaurus8493 Why is it impossible they are legal? For what reason would a women be stopped if she wants to have a tubaligation.

@@lestonthompson8495 do you not understand sexism? Women are denied them because they’re not as reversible as vasectomies. Women are denied them because to men we’re just gestational slaves.

Women have ALREADY died.

My cousin is dead because of Texas’s abortion ban

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. As a RN/RM of many years that is diabolical.@@ladylaurus8493

I'm sure there have been many deaths already attributed to these draconian, 12 century view laws but the women have been poor from rural impoverished areas or women of color who have no voice and are not economically or politically well heeled or connected enough to bring this to public attention.

I'm so sorry for the trauma and loss your family has gone through.

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

That is so awful, and to have to continue on for months rather than be able terminate and fully grieve....

This is awful 😢 I am soo sorry to hear this

I am so sorry.

Polls using what sampling techniques ?

🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

Actually its not, it is by law not at ALL hypothetical... you have to have a real case to bring it before the SCOTUS, not just a legal theory. Read the Constitution.

we all know the court is corrupt @@DaleHartley

​@@DaleHartleywell here we have at lwast 20 cases now, and what did we just hear? First sue the doctor.

@@NoirChloe I think you missed the point of the first post.. They were saying that the SCOTUS only deals in theory, not facts. But I would note that indeed you would need a case and lawsuit first to get it into the legal system. I have no standing on the issue, so I will not sue anyone.

It’s about thinking of hypotheticals in considering arguments for setting a precedent, but the court cannot just make a ruling in thin air without there being a concrete controversy before the court , with one party suing another. But that’s the highest court in the land. Lower courts have nothing to do with setting precedents, and those judges don’t engage in hypotheticals.

Mark Sanford said his wife’s abortion was “different, because she needed it.” So no. Republicans don’t change their stance when their wives get abortions.

They just hope it passes with thoughts and prayers.

Nope, they make excuses and still vote to take away others rights.

Some of the women in this lawsuit are exactly that. They were totally anti abortion until it happened to them and then they said "I didn't realize, I didn't know". One of them had to go to New Mexico to get care and had to walk past protesters calling her names. She said she used to be one of them. Unfortunately I think they will still declare their opinions correct on other issues they are ignorant about, even after experiencing this.

@@ArkhamOrderly what is a woman

You left out McConnell blocking Obama’s Garland pick. How does that fit into your reasoning?

I was thinking of coming to visit for my 1st time so I hopefully have to have a job to be able to

Nope. It’s gerrymandering.

@@Kenyon712Both!

Then go sign up to be a judge. Stop complaining about it if you're not going to go sign up. Why aren't women signing up in droves to be judges? Because it's not a glamorous easy job.

Yes.

I watched the hearing. This particular judge actually gives the impression he sides with the plaintiffs. In that clip he was hammering the state for their ridiculous argument that they have no standing

@@Master.ProcrastinatorThank you for clearing that up.

All republicans are confused. It is their natural state of being.

It's the doctors fault. If they deem that abortion is the only way to save a woman's life then they should do it. That would be compliant with the law. If they are scared to lose their license it's THEIR fault. We don't say that we're going to get rid of malpractice lawsuits if a doctor is scared of being sued do we?

I’m pro choice but it doesn’t boggle my mind that some people believe a human fetus is a life with rights to not be killed. When do you think a right to life exists along the timeline of human development? 9 months? Birth? 5 months? Conception? It seems reasonable people can disagree on that and there would be very different abortion laws depending on that belief.

And for some women's lives.

It's already happening most counties in Texas are maternity deserts an OBGYNs are leaving the state and it still doesn't stop the state of Texas they don't care if women get any kind of Health Care

The OBGYNs are too busy leaving the state they don't want to face life in prison and hundred-thousand-dollar fines for trying to help a woman get an abortion