Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, states required minors seeking abortion without the involvement of their parents to seek a court order. Today, after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Woman’s Health Organization, an adult woman had to do the same thing, even when her life and fertility were at risk. While a judge ruled in her favor on Thursday, issuing a temporary restraining order granting her doctor the right to perform the procedure without facing penalties, the state of Texas is still determined to stop her.

Kate Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant with her third child, learned that her child had full trisomy 18, a genetic condition that is almost always fatal in utero or the first year after birth. Physicians warned her that continuing the pregnancy put her at high risk of developing gestational diabetes and hypertension—and that a third Cesarean section might also deprive Cox of the ability to have another child. Her physician nevertheless turned away her request for an abortion, concerned about “the loss of her medical license, life in prison, and massive civil fines.”

That Cox was the one asking for a court order permitting her to have an abortion is remarkable. Before Roe, plaintiffs like Norma McCorvey, the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade, went to court to challenge the constitutionality of abortion laws, but often used pseudonyms. Moreover, they questioned the validity of criminal abortion laws rather than seeking a court-ordered abortion (McCorvey famously did not have an abortion and carried the “Roe baby” to term). After 1973, it was abortion providers who often brought suit on their patients’ behalf. Only minors asked permission to end specific pregnancies—and only under laws that applied to children acting without parental consent.

Related From Slate