CBS News
Texas woman with a fatal fetal diagnosis asks judge to grant her abortion
DALLAS-FORT WORTH – Kate Cox, who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, is pleading with the state of Texas to overturn its abortion restrictions and allow her pregnancy to be terminated after learning that her fetus has a deadly ailment, putting her health at risk.
Just last week, 31-year-old Cox found out her unborn child has trisomy 18.
Also known as Edward’s Syndrome, trisomy 18 is a chromosomal abnormality that often results in stillbirth or an early death of an infant.
Previous ultrasounds revealed multiple additional serious conditions including a single artery in the umbilical cord; a protrusion from the baby’s abdomen, likely an umbilical hernia; a twisted spine likely due to spina bifida, a neural tube defect; clubbed or “rocker-bottom” foot; intrauterine growth restriction; and irregular skull and heart development.
Wednesday, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed an emergency lawsuit on behalf of Cox and her husband.
Cox and her husband have two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-and-a-half-year-old son.
Cox’s previous deliveries were not easy. Both of her children were delivered via cesarean surgery. Cox and her husband hoped to have more children, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, continuing the pregnancy will have a disastrous effect on Cox’s health. Her OB-GYNs say she runs the additional risk of crippling health issues, like potential infertility.
Cox’s physicians said their “hands are tied” due to the state’s law, and she will have to wait until her baby dies inside her or carry the pregnancy to term, at which point she will undergo a third C-section, the lawsuit states.
“It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to my baby, but when. I’m trying to do what is best for my baby and myself, but the state of Texas is making us both suffer,” said Cox.
Trying to leave the state is her only other choice.
“I do not want to continue the pain and suffering that has plagued this pregnancy. I do not want to put my body through the risks of continuing this pregnancy. I do not want my baby to arrive in this world only to watch her suffer,” Kate Cox said. “I need to end my pregnancy now so that I have the best chance for my health and a future pregnancy.”
Because they fear liability under Texas’ abortion ban, S.B. 8, Cox and her husband filed a lawsuit asking the court to halt the state’s abortion bans temporarily. They also asked the court to spare OB/GYN Dr. Damla Karsan from prosecution so that she could perform the procedure in Texas.
Karsan is also a plaintiff in Zurawski v. Texas, a case which is not seeking to overturn Texas’ ban but rather to clarify what qualifies as a medical exemption.
Earlier this year, a judge ruled that women who experience pregnancy complications are exempt from the state’s abortion ban. The judge’s ruling found the women in the case should have been given abortions, adding they were denied abortions due to “widespread uncertainty” in the medical exception to Texas’ abortion bans.
Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the ruling, blocking the change to the law and bringing the legal challenge to the state Supreme Court.
Oral arguments in Zurawski v. Texas began Nov. 28.
A hearing date has not yet been set for Cox’s lawsuit.
CBS News
Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.
Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.
For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state.
One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president.
What Harris will discuss
Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris.
Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.
Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know.
Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview
Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.
Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special.
“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”
The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”
“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”
In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.
“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”
Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes
Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.
Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020.
How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special
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