Kate Cox, abortion in Texas and religious freedom

It’s a tragedy when a pregnant person learns their own health and pregnancy are at risk, especially when it’s apparent the baby will die hours after birth. Being in this position is a terrifying and lonely place to be.

Unfortunately, that’s where Kate Cox found herself recently when she sought a medically necessary abortion. Then it took an unimaginable turn when she learned, like the rest of us, that the Texas Supreme Court was more than willing to make matters worse. In states with abortion bans like ours, even those with medical exceptions, the last person who gets to decide is the first person impacted by this diagnosis: the pregnant person.

Even after being granted immunity from prosecution on medical grounds by a district court, Cox was ultimately blocked from terminating her ill-fated pregnancy and forced to leave the state so she could receive the pregnancy care she needed. This is no longer unusual in Texas, as many women now face this agonizing choice.

Current Texas law prohibits abortion except to save the life of the pregnant patient. Both Cox’s doctor and the district judge believed her case fit the criteria of Texas’ already restrictive abortion law. Molly Duane, one of Cox’s attorneys, said that Cox is at “high risk for multiple pregnancy complications, including hypertension, gestational diabetes, and infection.” If she didn’t have an abortion, Cox would have been unable to have another healthy pregnancy, which would devastate her and her family’s dream to have a larger family.

As Jewish women, we know this is wrong. But in Texas, we face double discrimination with anti-abortion laws that deny both our bodily autonomy and freedom to practice our religious beliefs. This is why my organization, National Council of Jewish Women of Greater Dallas, and our sister organizations in Austin, San Antonio and Houston, fully support Cox’s right — and the right of any pregnant person — to decide whether to continue a pregnancy.

In Jewish tradition, we are taught to value a pregnant person’s life and health above other considerations. Our Jewish teachings also uphold that abortion is not only permitted but required when the life of the pregnant person is at risk. We acknowledge there is diversity of thought and interpretation across the Jewish denominations, yet the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative Jewish movements all believe health care includes abortion care.

Jewish women are not alone in this experience. The denial of medically necessary abortion care under Texas law also impinges on the religious beliefs of others. In solidarity, NCJW initiated a coalition of diverse religious traditions and submitted an amicus brief in the case Zurawski vs. State of Texas that seeks clarification on the medical emergency exception under current law. All who signed on hold a faith-informed belief that a pregnant person has the moral right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy that threatens their life or health.

Despite the distress she has suffered during her pregnancy, and the Texas law that takes away her individual agency, Cox is fortunate. She left Texas to have her medically necessary abortion because she has the means and support to travel. Many do not. As people of faith, we must emphasize the moral urgency of abortion access for all, including people in marginalized communities who are disproportionately impacted by this unjust Texas law that currently denies medically necessary abortion care.

Denying an abortion under Texas law despite health and religious beliefs goes against both the U.S. and Texas constitutions. The latter says: “Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin.”

Although our Jewish faith supports abortion rights, the imperative lies in ensuring universal access to safe abortions. It is a fundamental right that transcends religious doctrines and calls on us to forge alliances across religious divides, uniting in the pursuit of comprehensive bodily autonomy for all individuals, irrespective of faith.

Shannon Morse is the executive director of the National Council of Jewish Women-Greater Dallas. The NCJW in Austin, Houston and San Antonio co-signed this essay.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com