Dems want to focus on abortion rights. A Trump ally may have just helped.

Key Facts

| Eric Gay/AP A showdown in Texas over one woman’s right to terminate a non-viable pregnancy could keep abortion at the center of the 2024 election and change the trajectory of legal challenges to state bans.
And it has amplified a debate over who is exempt from strict abortion bans, who has legal standing to challenge the bans and the liabilities doctors risk in interpreting vague laws with stiff penalties as they help patients navigate time-sensitive medical crises.
Democrats have since seized on the case and Paxton’s decision to intervene and appeal it to the state’s supreme court, believing it highlights two of their central arguments: women’s rights are in jeopardy under a GOP-controlled government and the system of checks and balances is under attack.
Both Texas Alliance for Life and Texas Right to Life told POLITICO they are unconvinced that Cox qualifies for a medical exemption and said she should carry the pregnancy to term even if the baby does not survive.