Kate Cox lives in Texas which restricts abortion availability. She also is carrying a fetus that will die before it is born or soon after the baby is born. Because Texas has restrictive abortion laws, Cox had to petition the Texas courts in order to terminate her pregnancy. She received a judge’s approval to move forward with the abortion. Then, in jumps Ken Paxton, the Republican Attorney General for Texas. He decided that Cox must have her child and has threatened hospitals who might perform the procedure with legal action if they assist her.

Why Paxton would choose this particular abortion case to fight is baffling. The best that Paxton can get here is a Pyrrhic Victory. He may be able to force a woman to carry this dying fetus but only at the expense of losing the people who have conditional acceptance of abortions. Cox is making a decision based on the viability of the fetus. She wanted the baby but medical experts told her that her baby is doomed. Why is it better for her to continue her pregnancy, only to have the fetus die in her or die soon after the baby is born.

This is why overwhelming majorities of people, if forced to decide between liberal abortion laws and restrictive abortion laws, always choose liberal abortion laws. It is bad enough that Cox had to go to court to terminate her pregnancy but then to have the Attorney General of her state continue her struggle by taking it to the Texas Supreme Court is astounding.

Paxton is behaving in exactly the way that pro-Choice advocates are warning us about. They are blocking women from having abortions even when the circumstances would cause most people to abort. It is an unreasonable intrusion on Cox and for what? The death of the baby she wanted. It is personally cruel to Cox — extending her suffering for months longer than necessary and delaying her chance for another pregnancy. Why would anyone inflict this horror on anyone?

This puts to rest the idea that Paxton and the pro-Life fanatics will be reasonable about abortion. They won’t and they are proving it. And though I would never stop a Republican from committing political suicide, completely baffling given the political situation at the present moment. This was an easily avoidable battle. Cox did what Texas expected of her, a judge ruled in her favor but Paxton disagreed with the decision. Which is troubling particularly in a state the size of Texas? Is the Attorney General going to review every request for an abortion before the doctors can proceed? If so, I predict more liberal abortion laws in Texas’ future.