Kate Cox Should’ve Had a Choice

Greetings, Meteor readers,

I know that it’s not cool to scold people, but some of y’all deserve it. Stop sending money to George Santos on Cameo! It was funny when he was lying and scamming his way around Congress, but this man should not be profiting off his nonsense to the tune of $174,000. Honestly, if you want to pay that much to have someone sassy insult your friends, I’ve got a Venmo account, way better lighting, and have never been expelled from Congress.

In today’s newsletter, we read between the lines of Texas’s Supreme Court ruling against Kate Cox. Plus, a ceasefire in the Congo and a reprieve for children apprehended at the U.S. southern border.

Reminding you Santos Cameos are not in your budget,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

An inhumane ruling: The story of Kate Cox, a Texas woman who sued, won, and then eventually lost her fight to obtain an abortion in her state has dominated the headlines over the last few days. So what makes this case such a huge story? Let’s start from the top.

Kate Cox found out in November that her pregnancy was doomed. During an NIPT screening (between 10-13 weeks) meant to determine the sex of the fetus, Cox’s doctor found markers that the fetus was at high risk for Trisomy 18, “a condition with a very high likelihood of miscarriage or stillbirth and low survival rates.” Despite these initial results, Cox remained hopeful and underwent further testing, which only revealed worsening conditions for her fetus, including irregular skull and heart development, a twisted spine, and a neural tube defect. A specialist told Cox that in the best-case scenario—if the fetus managed to survive labor—it would only live for a week.

Cox was devastated. Not only was her pregnancy not viable, there was a chance carrying it to term would impact her ability to conceive in the future. And yet, she was told by her medical professionals that she didn’t meet the legal threshold to obtain an abortion because of the extreme ban in Texas—a story shared by many other women in the state (and across the country) since the Dobbs decision.

With the support of a doctor who was willing to perform the abortion, Cox quickly sued the state to request an exemption, given the dangerous medical circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. Last Friday, a lower court ruled in her favor—but shortly after Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the decision, and the case was sent to Texas’s Supreme Court. On Monday, the highest court in Texas, much to the shock of medical professionals and advocates, overturned the lower court’s decision. They ruled that Cox was not eligible for an abortion under the state’s guidelines. (Instead of waiting for her condition to worsen, Cox sought an abortion out of state just before the ruling was issued.)

What is truly baffling about the ruling issued by the court are the linguistic gymnastics used by the justices to explain the decision. They place most of the blame on her doctor, writing that the physician had failed to meet a standard from the Texas ban that allows an abortion “if the pregnant female…has a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places the female at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.”

Let’s pause here. At the point in which the suit was filed, Kate Cox’s life was not in immediate danger, and (ostensibly) potentially not being able to conceive again falls under “impairment to a major bodily function.” The fact that these laws are written in such a way that doctors have to hesitate in making the decisions that are best for their patients for fear they might have their licenses revoked or prosecuted is anything but “pro-life.” It’s a double-edged sword that even the Court was forced to acknowledge in its ruling: “Under the law,” the justices wrote, “it is a doctor who must decide that a woman is suffering from a life-threatening condition during a pregnancy, raising the necessity for an abortion…A pregnant woman does not need a court order to have a lifesaving abortion in Texas.”

Unfortunately, Justices Devine and Blacklock, under your state’s law, she does. But she absolutely should not have to.

  AND:

• Claudine Gay, Harvard University’s first Black president, will remain in her position after uproar over her performance at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses. Rep. Elise Stefanik (of all people) led the questioning, asking Gay: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?” Gay replied, among other things, that, “It can be, depending on the context.” Outcry ensued, calling Gay’s response “coldly legalistic” at best and harmful at worst. Despite public displeasure over Gay’s testimony, a letter from over 770 alumni in defense of Gay argued that Gay has spent her entire career committed to free speech and the safety of her students. It also highlighted this overlooked response of hers from the hearing: “Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group, are vile. They have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account.”

• Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift attended Ramy Youssef’s comedy show this weekend. Normally that wouldn’t matter, but the proceeds from Youssef’s show are going towards humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Swifties, our mother has shown us the way.

• My deepest condolences to every person who was not in London’s St. Pancras International Station on Monday morning, because you missed a surprise public performance from the great Alicia Keys. As if this news wasn’t devastating enough: She was playing a piano gifted to her by Elton John. When are you coming to my train station, Alicia?

• A temporary ceasefire has been reached in the Congo, where the government is at war with various rebel groups, some of which are believed to be backed by the Rwandan government. The ceasefire is scheduled to last three days and is intended to allow safe passage for civilians during Congo’s presidential election. The devastation this conflict has wreaked has been significant: Nearly seven million Congolese have been displaced.

• A disturbing and graphic report from Haaretz has confirmed that a social media account on Telegram called “72 Virgins – Uncensored” is managed by the Israeli Defense Forces via their Influencing Department. The account features videos and images of IDF soldiers committing horrific and stomach-turning acts of violence against people in Gaza. According to the report, followers of the account are encouraged to share the posts on social media to “shatter the terrorists’ fantasy” and show Israelis that the war on terror is being won.

MORE FROM THE METEOR

If you’re in New York this weekend: In Love and Struggle, Vol. 3 is happening at the Minetta Lane Theatre! Come hang out with us on December 14, 15, or 16 and see performances from voice actor Cree Summer, comedian Zainab Johnson, poet Mahogany L. Browne, musician Nona Hendryx (she was one of the singers on the original Lady Marmalade!!!), and many more. You can get your tickets (and a sweet discount) here.

If you’re looking for a podcast: Last week, In Retrospect revisited the “most hated woman in America,” actress Robin Givens. If you don’t know the story: In 1988, Givens and her husband, Mike Tyson, gave a television interview to Barbara Walters, addressing persistent tabloid rumors that their marriage was violent. In a stunningly honest moment, sitting next to Tyson, Givens admitted that her husband’s abuse tormented her.

But Givens’ honesty about her violent marriage to Mike Tyson wasn’t met by massive public empathy for her. Instead, she was vilified—even as additional evidence of his abuse emerged. (Givens ultimately endured, filing for divorce and rebuilding her life despite the vitriol.) In a comprehensive two-episode story, hosts Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett examine the cruel public reaction and what it teaches us about America’s misunderstanding of domestic violence at that time; plus, guest Dr. Salamishah Tillet weighs in on what happens when a Black woman comes forward about her abuse.

CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO GET YOUR UNIQUE SHARE CODE TO SEND TO A FEW FRIENDS. IF FIVE OF THEM SIGN UP FOR THIS NEWSLETTER, YOU GET A METEOR TOTE!

ALREADY HAVE A CODE BUT CAN’T FIND IT? NO WORRIES, IT’S WAITING FOR YOU DOWN BELOW ⬇️

FOLLOW THE METEOR

Thank you for reading The Meteor! Got this from a friend? Subscribe using their share code or sign up for your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays.

[email protected]