A Texas judge on Thursday ruled that a pregnant woman can obtain an emergency abortion despite the state's near-total abortion ban that went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last June, marking the first such intervention in the state since the federal law went into effect 50 years ago.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the case earlier this week on behalf of Kate Cox of Dallas, her husband and her OB-GYN. Cox, who is 20 weeks pregnant and whose unborn baby has trisomy 18, a lethal genetic condition linked to abnormalities in the body and low birth weights, sought the abortion because her doctors have advised her that there is "virtually no chance" her baby will survive and that continuing the pregnancy poses grave risks to her health and fertility, according to the complaint.

The Dallas-area mother of two, who hopes to have another child, in the past month has been admitted to emergency rooms four times, including one visit since filing the case, after experiencing severe cramping and fluid leaks. Her doctors have advised her that carrying the pregnancy to term would make it less likely that she will be able to carry another child in the future, according to the complaint.