"If I had an emergency in my pregnancy, my first call would be to my lawyer" | WFAA's one-on-one interview with Kate Cox

DALLAS — During The Texas Debate Tuesday, moderator Jason Whitely's first question to candidates Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Colin Allred was about abortion.

The two candidates sparred quickly.

"It's not pro-life to deny women care so long they can't have children anymore," Allred said.

"Colin Allred has voted to tell, you a mother at home, you have no right to know if your daughter is getting an abortion!" Cruz hit back.

In their exchange, Allred told Cruz, "You should look into the camera right now and explain to Kate Cox...who's watching right now."

Kate Cox is the name of a Dallas woman people worldwide have come to recognize. She sued the state for an abortion in 2023 after doctors said her baby had a lethal anomaly. The Texas Supreme Court eventually overturned a court order that would have allowed her to get an abortion, which she said doctors told her she needed to protect her future fertility. She fled to another state.

"I'm pregnant today because I had access to abortion care, and I'm grateful for the ability to bring a baby home," Cox, pregnant now again, told WFAA in an interview Tuesday ahead of the debate. "It's a scary time to be pregnant in Texas. If I had an emergency in my pregnancy my first call would be my lawyer my second call would be to my doctor."

Cox is a supporter of Allred now, even appearing in his commercials. Cruz has talked about her case, too.

"What happened to Kate Cox is horrific," Cruz said in an interview with CNN in May. Cruz said then that he agreed with the state Supreme Court's ruling to overturn her protection to get an abortion, because the justices argued the state medical board, not judges, should clarify what constitutes a medical exemption under the law.

But still, he said, "I think there's a very good argument that she fell under that exception."

Kate Cox never thought some of our country's most powerful politicians would ever know her name. Since they do, she wants to make sure they know her story, too.

"I can't bear to see other families go through the nightmare that we did."

Cox told WFAA she has no plan to move out of the state.

"It's my family, my community, I'm a lifelong Texan. It wouldn't just be leaving the state, it would be the people I love. I'd much rather fight for it."