A didn’t spill my coffee on the pour GOOD MORNING!!! to you all! Yup, I FINALLY DID IT! I poured a cup of coffee from my Keurig Pot that didn’t spill out all over the place when I pour it. Gonna be a good day!
Free For All Friday Ed-vise today. Cause it’s FRIDAY! OPEN MAT; PIZZA NIGHT!
Gonna talk about Texas (God Bless Texas) and Kate Cox. In particular their SU-PREME Court and her doctor. AND…about being a semi-good lawyer.
In case you missed it, Kate Cox is a mom who had to make the heart breaking choice of aborting her unborn fetus. Fetus was going to be still born and the damage it would cause her would make it so she probably wouldn’t be able to have another child.
She lives in Texas. Texas hates abortion. They will go out of their way to make sure a woman gives birth no matter what. They did so with some very restrictive statutes banning abortion.
However, there are exceptions. And the Texas SU-PREME Court, in all their glory, set them out.
They point out that their ruling “does not block a life saving abortion in this very case if a physician determines that one is needed UNDER THE APPROPRIATE LEGAL STANDARD, using reasonable medical judgment.” I emphasize “under the appropriate legal standard” because THAT is VERY important and was missed by the doctor’s attorney.
The appropriate legal standard for this, in Texas, is: 1) A life threatening physical condition; 2) that places the mom at risk of death; or 3) Poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.
The doctor, in this case, stated in her testimony that she “good faith belief” that the appropriate legal standard was at play with this pregnancy.
The legal standard requires a “reasonable medical opinion.” NOT a “good faith belief.”
And that is where the lawyers for the doctor failed.
In court, you are playing what I call “Lawyer Ball.” That means if a statute says something your client MUST say those exact words. It is an absolute MUST if you want to succeed on something like this that requires you to meet a definition.
Here, the doctor’s lawyer should have coached the doctor to say the EXACT words of the statute: “In my reasonable medical opinion, this pregnancy poses a life threatening physical condition that places the mom at risk of death. If not death is poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”
THAT is what the doctor should have said. THAT is how you meet an exception standard.
If you step outside that, you run the serious risk of losing your case, as seen here.
It sounds trivial, and it is. But, in the Court of Lawyer Ball, it is how the game is played.
Keep in mind, I am no fan of Texas politics nor the “Bible Thumpers” that want to turn Texas into a Christian version of Afghanistan. I am also not a fan of how the press presents stuff like this. It’s just as wrong.
The lawyer, in this case, didn’t do a good enough job. The doctor, didn’t say what she should have said. And the SU-PREME Court of Texas (God bless Texas) actually DID the right thing.
The Attorney General for Texas, Ken Paxton, is still the Devil and always will be.
I’m just saying
That’s it for today. Be the person a stranger will do CPR on. Check in on each other and remember if a guy doesn’t appreciate fruit puns, you need to…LET THAT MAN-GO! BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA…just RAISIN AWARENESS! BOOM…2 for 1!
Peace
Ed-vise 