Justice delayed may be justice denied, say the lawyers of Kate Cox, the woman at the center of an unprecedented abortion lawsuit in Texas. The state's Supreme Court on Friday night halted a lower court's ruling that would have allowed Cox to end her 20-week non-viable pregnancy despite the state's strict six-week abortion ban.  

The highly publicized case is now in limbo. The state's top court issued an administrative stay "without regard to the merits" of the arguments of either side, to allow itself more time to make a final decision.

"While we still hope that the Court ultimately rejects the state's request and does so quickly," said an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the 31-year-old mother of two at the center of the lawsuit.

Cox's attorneys have said they will not share her abortion plans due to concerns for her safety. Cox's fetus was diagnosed with a condition called trisomy-18, a likely-fatal condition that would cause suffering to the child if it survived to birth.  Carrying the pregnancy to term risked the health and fertility of the mother, doctors said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said that "future criminal and civil proceedings cannot restore the life that is lost if Plaintiffs or their agents proceed to perform and procure an abortion in violation of Texas law."

Paxton also warned hospitals that they would not be insulated from legal consequences if they allowed Cox's physician to perform the abortion, despite the previous ruling from state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble.  Paxton said that private citizens could still bring lawsuits and local prosecutors could still bring charges.

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