Texas woman sues to get emergency abortion for nonviable pregnancy

• "Ms. [Kate] Cox's physicians have informed her that their 'hands are tied' and she will have to wait until her baby dies inside her or carry the pregnancy to term, at which point she will be forced to have a third C-section, only to watch her baby suffer until death," the lawsuit said.

A chromosomal condition called trisomy 18 affects Cox's pregnancy, the lawsuit said.

• "It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye, but when," she said in the lawsuit. "I do not want to continue the pain and suffering that has plagued this pregnancy."
• She was 20 weeks pregnant as of early December.
• Trisomy 18 is almost always fatal before or shortly after birth. According to the lawsuit, the fetus also has several other conditions — including an umbilical hernia, a twisted spine, and irregular skull and heart development — that add additional complications for the fetus' possibility of survival.

Context: Cox received confirmation of her pregnancy's outlook on Nov. 28, the same day that the Supreme Court held oral arguments on whether to give doctors more guidance on treating complicated pregnancies.

• A decision from the state's highest court is not imminent.

Threat level: If Cox, already a mother of two, has to carry the baby to term and deliver via C-section, any subsequent pregnancies will carry a higher risk, the lawsuit says.

• The suit adds Cox would like to have other children in the future.

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