Jill Biden to Bring Woman Who Was Forced to Flee Texas For Abortion to State of the Union

AP Photo/Alex Brandon; Joe Biden on Twitter/X

President Joe Biden has made it abundantly clear that he will make reproductive rights a major campaign issue in his reelection bid — and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will have a woman directly affected by the end of Roe v. Wade as her guest at the State of the Union.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the invitation on Wednesday, saying:

On Sunday, the President and the First Lady spoke to Kate Cox, who was forced to go to court to seek permission for the care she needed for a nonviable pregnancy that threatened her life. They thanked her for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out about the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas.

The First Lady invited Kate to join her as a guest at the State of the Union and Kate accepted, so those are ways that you’re going to hear the president lift up those very personal stories.

Cox found herself in a legal battle with the Texas state government when she found out her 20-week pregnancy was no longer viable and could affect her ability to have children in the future. But the doctors who recommended that she terminate her pregnancy were threatened with prosecution by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton if they performed the procedure.

Cox sued the state and was granted permission to get the procedure by a district court. But then the state Supreme Court stepped in and paused the ruling, ultimately ruling against Cox after she went to an undisclosed state to end her pregnancy.

Part of Biden’s strategy is to remind voters that former President Donald Trump not only appointed the Supreme Court justices who were responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, but that he was proud to have ended the right to an abortion that was in place for almost 50 years. Cox appears in one of Biden’s ads.