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.
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.