Biden denounces Texas abortion ban in State of the Union, with Kate Cox, Amanda Zurawski as guests

President Joe Biden made Kate Cox, a Dallas mother of two who traveled outside of Texas to terminate an unviable pregnancy, a central part of his State of the Union address Thursday night, once again drawing the nation's attention to the state's near-total abortion ban — one of the strictest in the country.

After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade case, which guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion for nearly 50 years, Cox in December 2023 became the first woman in the country to seek a court-approved abortion after her physician said that her fetus had a severe genetic condition, trisomy 18, and "virtually no chance" of survival.

Cox's doctors had also advised her that carrying the pregnancy to term would increase her risk of fertility loss and other health issues, potentially hurting her chances of eventually delivering the third child Cox and her husband desperately wanted. She had visited emergency rooms three times in one month for severe cramping and fluid leaks before filing her request before a Travis County state district court.

Cox ultimately left the state during her 21st week of pregnancy to seek an abortion hours before the Texas Supreme Court ruled that her baby's fatal diagnosis and the risks to Cox's health associated with carrying the pregnancy to term did not qualify her for an exception. Texas law only permits abortion in cases in which a doctor uses "reasonable medical judgement" to determine that the mother's life is at risk, as the Court affirmed.

"Texas law banned her ability to act, so Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get what she needed," Biden said. "What her family went through should never have happened, but it's happening with too many others."

He also criticized Texas' lack of rape exceptions, saying, "The state law criminalizes doctors, forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states to get the treatment they need."

More: New poll shows broad support for rape, fetal anomaly exceptions to Texas abortion bans

As Biden spoke, Maria Shriver, a journalist who helped the White House announce an initiative to close gaps in women's health care research, squeezed Cox's hand in support. Both sat to the right of First Lady Jill Biden, who invited Cox to the address in January. On Cox's left was LaTorya Beasley, a mother from Birmingham, Ala. whose in-vitro fertilization embryo transfer was cancelled following the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court to endow embryos with the legal status of human children.

Ahead of the address, the anti-abortion group Texas Alliance for Life slammed Biden for "advanc(ing) a narrative that undermines the sanctity of life and disregards the laws of Texas." The press release also referenced the fact that Cox's doctor did not assert with "reasonable medical judgment" that Cox's life was at risk, though the doctor did attest to that danger in "good faith."

"This is a direct snub of the majority of voters in our state who elected pro-life legislators who supported the passage of our protective, pro-life laws," Amy O'Donnell, communications director for the group, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The press release included the testimonies of two Texas women who chose to carry babies with fatal diagnoses to term. One, a Texas Alliance for Life policy analyst, prepared for the funeral of her son Bosco while she was pregnant with him; he died during birth. Another, anti-abortion activist Jacquelyn Smith, carried a fetus with full trisomy 18 to term. He died shortly after birth, the release said.

Former President Donald Trump has taken credit for facilitating the passage of abortion bans in states like Texas, Biden noted. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices, creating the conservative majority that toppled abortion protections established in the landmark 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade.

“After 50 years of failure, with nobody coming even close, I was able to kill Roe v. Wade, much to the ‘shock’ of everyone,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social in May. "Without me the pro Life movement would have just kept losing (sic)."

Biden described Cox's situation as part of the "chaos that has resulted" from the decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

While anti-abortion Republican and Evangelical Christian voters across the country have praised Trump for helping them accomplish a decades-old goal to outlaw elective abortion, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have staked a large part of their hopes for reelection on the fact that most Americans do not support near-total abortion bans.

Also present at the State of the Union were three of 22 women suing Texas in a major abortion case before the state Supreme Court.

One was lead plaintiff and Austin resident Amanda Zurawski, who has advocated for the state to provide clearer guidance to doctors around medical exceptions after a lack of intervention following a premature water break that led her to nearly die of septic shock. Zurawski was the guest of Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the Democratic whip.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, invited Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN who left the state to terminate her pregnancy after learning her baby had a fatal condition and whose patient was forced to flee to obtain an abortion of a fetus whose failing health endangered its healthy twin.

Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, invited Houston OB-GYN Dr. Damla Kharsan, who testified that narrow medical exceptions make it impossible for her to provide comprehensive healthcare to her patients, per Zurawski filings.

Biden, a Roman Catholic who once opposed a federal right to abortion as a senator, also reinforced his administration's support for abortion rights during the speech. He renewed his vow to "restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land" if "you, the American people, send me and Congress the support for the right to choose" — asking voters to send a Democratic majority to the House and Senate in November.

"Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women, but they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot," he said. "We won in 2022, 2023, and we will win again in 2024."

Also acknowledged in Biden's speech was Jazmine Cazares, sister of Jackie Cazares, who was in attendance in the chamber. Jackie was one of the 21 students and teachers murdered at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. Biden encouraged lawmakers to do something about gun violence and noted that he established the White House's Office of Gun Violence Prevention led by Harris.

More: 'Emotional torture': Austin woman's story of a doomed pregnancy amid abortion ban

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Biden denounces Texas abortion ban in State of the Union