Ken Paxton issues threat after judge ruled this week that Cox, a pregnant woman with a lethal fetal diagnosis, can get an abortion
The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, has threatened to prosecute any doctor who provides an abortion to Kate Cox, a woman with a non-viable pregnancy, advising hospitals to ignore a court order issued on Thursday allowing her to get the procedure.
The rightwing Paxton issued the warning to three Houston-area hospitals after a Texas judge ruled this week that Cox, a pregnant woman with a lethal fetal diagnosis, may obtain an abortion under the narrow medical exceptions offered by the state bans.
In a brazen dismissal of the court’s decision, Paxton wrote that the judge’s order “will not insulate hospitals, doctors or anyone else from civil and criminal liability”.
Paxton also wrote that the hospital where Cox obtains an abortion “may be liable for negligent credentialing the physician” who performs the procedure.
An attorney general is “advising hospitals to ignore a court order”.
Read that sentence again.
He is supposed to be an officer of the court. It is his job to uphold the law, regardless of how he feels about it personally. The judge ruled explicitly on this particular woman’s specific situation - there is no reasonable room for interpretation here.
This man is putting his own opinion above the rule of law. He is radically unsuited for his job and deserves to be disbarred.
This guy is under an FBI investigation and felony fraud charges. He is ignoring the court because he holds a criminal mindset and has zero respect for the law.
GOOD. Thank you for the context. I hope he’s indicted soon.
Not likely… he’s been under investigation for years. I was hoping his spat with the republicans that impeached him would accelerate his other legal issues, but they all concluded with a big nothing.
He was indicted 8 years ago. How he has managed to avoid a trial shows an astounding level of corruption in Texas. Fuck this guy and all the sycophants that protect and enable him.
This guy is a fucking crook. I thought they were going to disbar him.
For the Republicans, it’s not about protecting babies, it’s about punishing women.
Just plain cruelty. There’s no hate like Christian love.
What. The. Fuck.
It was never about life. It’s about power and control.
As a physician, I am completely lost as to why any OB-GYN (or other healthcare professional, for that matter) still feels comfortable practicing in the state of Texas.
They literally criminalized healthcare and turned doctors into potential perps. I’d be terrified that a patient unplanned miscarriage would turn into a murder investigation with me as the primary suspect.
I could totally see Texas go after a physician with SWAT and trash their house and kill their dog when bringing them in just to make an example for everyone else.
Sad but I can’t imagine practicing in Texas and feeling safe.
WTF is this ramble at the end on about?
“While the Biden administration continues to make up rules that are unconstitutional, I will keep holding them accountable,” Paxton said in a statement released earlier this year. “I will not allow the Biden administration to threaten doctors and hospitals with this unlawful mandate and put millions of Texans’ access to healthcare on the line.”
Projection, the P part of GOP.
Ah yes, the Grand Old Projection party.
The “party” p is lowercase because the name is not referring to a proper political party but rather to a group of people came together to have fun among themselves while making the lives of everyone else a living hell, just like frats do during off-seasons.
Grandstand
Obstruct
Project.
Greatest country on earth ladies and gentlemen, land of the free my arse.
Look at this idiot, he even looks like a republican.
What? The “land of the free”? Whoever told you that is your enemy
Um. That would be school.
(looks at school)
Oh. Right.
The “land of the free”? Whoever told you that is your enemy
Francis Scott Key is that enemy
we don’t need the key we’ll break in
Like what the hackiest cartoonist would draw if asked to draw a republican.
So hold him in contempt of court. Otherwise he’ll be emboldened and do it more
Given the diagnosis and complications that have already occurred, this seems like it goes beyond contempt of court to me. I would consider this to be attempted murder of the mother.
It’s not too late to abort Ken Paxton.
Ken Paxton is a perfect poster child for abortion. Some humans are just pure evil.
Also Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Don’t insult people with that
He doesn’t care about a baby that won’t even be born, he just wants her to die for being a woman who had sex with someone who wasn’t him.
It’s not about her having sex with someone that wasn’t him- I guarantee he couldn’t care less about that.
What he does care about is that he needs to control her every move and decision along with his voting base can’t think for themselves and need to be controlled by scum just like this piece of shit.
They’re all cowards that won’t think for themselves.
It’s literally about fear and control. They keep their base afraid.
You guys remember Death Panels, the anti-Obamacare cry that legislatures want to get between you and your doctor to decide who can get care?
Every Republican who jumped on that bandwagon needs to eat crow and realize they flipped like a bitch when it suited their anti-abortion argument.
They’re not gonna eat crow; they knew they were referring to themselves.
They were worried that they wouldn’t be the ones running the death panels
That don’t care. They don’t even feel. Unless it’s anger
Well careful now… Mike Johnson was ordained by God, almost a second Moses, and those rights to rule are not from government but the Almighty. And we all know Anger isn’t from God but from the devil.
/s (if it wasn’t obvious)
Keep banning books and privatizing schools folks, this is the indoctrination we’ll end up with.
Not just almost a second Moses, according to him.
Reading this as a non-American, it feels surreal. How can such a basic right be stripped from all women, and then have men stand up and defend such a disgusting situation. Do they have no shame? No moral compass?
As a Canadian it makes me feel like we need to grant asylum to American refugees
Can I stay at your house if Trump wins or steals the next election?
We did so during the Vietnam war, so there is precedent.
Americans probably don’t meet the legal requirements yet because there are still a lot of places in the US where you can escape this kind of fuckery. Things could easily change in a few years, though, if people on the left keep acting like spoiled brats and refuse to vote against Trump and company.
I checked when Trump was elected and I don’t meet the requirements to get a visa unless I already have a job in Canada or I go back to school :(.
I don’t like the other person’s response about republican shame/morality. I think it’s important to understand why these people do the things they do. Pretending they’re mustache-twirlingly evil doesn’t do anything but blind you to their rhetoric and remove your options for dealing with them. It’s hyperbole (in most cases) and makes fence-sitters less likely to believe you.
No moral compass?
Their moral compass is defined by christian nationalism. There are in-groups that must be supported and protected (republicans, white “upstanding” americans, whatever they presume that is), and out-groups that must be punished/jailed/worse (LGBTQ+, minorities, anyone left of Ron DeSantis).
They do this because their christian nationalism beliefs inform them that women need to be controlled, and they’re using the medical system to do this. If this was Paxton’s wife, he would have gotten her an “abortion” without noise, but I struggle to even use that word to describe what this woman needs. Her child is already dead. I mourn for her.
They cannot allow any legal exceptions for the common folk, so this woman must suffer. (Edit: And, this woman is highlighting that their system is unjust, so she is getting punished for it). They believe a woman’s place is only as a child rearer, homemaker, and low-skilled labor. It is deeply cruel, true, but they also think it’s justified. Ordinary Americans are appalled by these beliefs, and they need to be revealed for what they are.
There are no good Republicans, they left the party after the response to Jan 6 proved it was beyond redemption.
Cope.
I’m sorry you’ve misinterpreted what I had to say as support for republican rhetoric. There is an internal logic to their actions (which I reject categorically, their logic is wrong and can be argued against). Ignoring why they do things and just saying “they’re evil lol” without explanation gets people to ignore you.
Don’t bother with this guy. I tagged them as “🤡” a while back and it instantly made my browsing experience better.
You’re spot on though. If we’re going to wrestle this beast, we need to understand it. The problem is complex, and the solution will be too.
Thanks for the heads up 😺
No u
I didn’t misunderstand you.
I addressed your premise that they think they’re acting morally.
They don’t, that’s why they don’t mind getting their mistress an abortion, they don’t believe anything they say and have no morals.
I think we’re just having a semantic disagreement then. If you asked a republican why abortion is bad you’ll get an opinion informed by their version of morality.
IMHO, They’re still fine with getting their mistress an abortion because either:
-
abortion is bad for society on the whole, but my circumstances are different/I made a mistake and i deserve to be able to do this
-
Some abortions are justified but the circumstances are so rare it’s better to make it illegal. We’re making an omelette, have to break some eggs (oh also, my abortion is one of these justified rarities)
They might feel guilty about doing this, but they absolutely believe they’re doing the right thing after it’s all said and done. It’s very human to not be able to live up to your own ideals, even if your ideals aren’t ghoulishly cruel. Honestly I think that particular type of hypocrisy is worse than some scooby doo villain we can unmask.
They’re not banning abortion for some sort of performance. At least not all of them. They absolutely believe they’re special and moral, so it’s ok if they get one. They’re responsible enough and Jesus will forgive them anyway.
Well you won’t be the first person to refuse to understand that fascists only approach morality from the perspective of using it for personal benefit.
The single greatest lie they will ever tell you, like any other conman, is that they believe what they say.
-
Do they have no shame? No moral compass?
They don’t. That’s what it means to be a Republican.
All for a non-viable fetus. Not that it should matter, she should have the right to choose either way, but it makes this particularly insane.
If I was that woman’s husband I would probably be in jail for trying to murder one of these idiots by this point this is infuriating
Good thing you’re not.
The only thing you’d achieve would be causing her to have to deal with this BS while her husband is in jail.
Nope! Welcome to America.
It’s almost funny how they pretend it’s a democracy as well.
You are giving credit to the wrong people by framing it as all women losing a right and men defending that decision.
Tens of millions of American men vote for candidates who protect women’s rights.
Tens of millions of American women vote for candidates who seek to strip women’s rights.
What a shit state to be in.
Man, it would really be “sad” if he tripped and fell into a pit full of filthy dull knives and venomous snakes. Just a real “tragedy.”
That’s cruel. Those poor snakes.
yeah, lets keep the snakes out of this, the poor tetanusses will have to suffer Paxton though 😢
I like to think that the snakes will move out of the way, let him fall on the knives, and then use his body to climb out of the pit. Snakes be smart like that :)
Have you done your duty and told a conservative they’re an idiot today?
I hope that they keep doubling down. When unlikely voters show up… They tend to vote down ballot.
Literally the dog that caught the car.
Not exactly. There was a nice lady at the bus stop I was having a normal conversation with, and after 10 or 15 minutes she suddenly started talking angrily about how “blacks” are “lazy” and always on the news for doing something.
I was speechless, so she turned to me and asked, “do you like the blacks?” I slowly nodded my head, it was all I could do, I was so shocked. Then she goes “oh, okay,” and just drops the subject. Now I’m shocked for a second time at how damn polite this woman is about such a hateful belief.
Later on, the bus comes, and we get on. For context, the driver is a black man, and there are a few other people on the bus, none of them white. She has a very friendly conversation with the driver, and a one point she turns to me, and she tries to tell me he’s one of the good “blacks,” except instead of “blacks” she makes a vague gesture with her hand and adds, “like I was telling you about.”
All this to say, I was too baffled to call her an idiot. Sorry for going way off topic, I’ve just been stuck on that weird interaction all day. I mean, I’ve met racist people before, but I’ve never been treated so much like one of the “in group” that agrees with them, especially after saying that I don’t. For that matter, I’ve never been politely asked, “Do you like the blacks?” before. Ugh, sorry. Just a weird day.
He just interfered with this woman’s ability to pursue legal Healthcare to protect her life. If she dies as a result of the medical complications associated with the pregnancy, I don’t see how he doesn’t get charged with manslaughter at a minimum.
It would be very difficult to charge him because prosecutors have absolute immunity for charging decisions. Even if any other prosecutor wanted to charge him they would have a very high bar to prove he overstepped his role as a prosecutor.
As a prosecutor you’d think you’d be required by law to follow all rulings by a judge?
Edit - What if a judge rules someone innocent and Paxton is like nah, you go to prison anyway.
This isn’t any different?
Sadly I agree with with your point. While I, as someone who is definitely not a prosecutor, think there is a pretty strong case that he is using the power of his office to prevent someone from exercising their legal freedoms to try to survive, I am ignorant of how charges like that could be brought and expect that Paxton enjoys some pretty broad protections, whether his position should or not.
He should be held liable for medical malpractice, as a private citizen
