But interpretation of the laws is still causing challenges to care. For doctors treating such patients, the Texas law creates quite a conundrum, Dr. Snyder said. And it's this stupid, like, distinction that you're just making in this grief. And it's strong. The earliest time that any genetic testing could be done would be at seven weeks, Dr. Palmer said, so the patient decided to terminate her pregnancy before the six-week mark, in Texas. Depending on the medical circumstances, one of those options may be abortion. '", "It was devastating to hear that," Elizabeth says. Once she made her way through the clinics stringent security, the nurses took her into a private room. There has been apprehension by doctors about dealing with both of those two issues, Abbott told Fox 4 News. Elizabeth was in graduate school for political science, and James taught middle-school math. These provisions are in Chapter 170A of the Texas Health & Safety Code, which was enacted by House Bill 1280 in 2021. "And yet we're being pulled through this.". After holding it together all morning, Hall burst into tears. But the patient was past six weeks gestation, and under the new law, an abortion was not an option in Texas because the woman was not immediately facing a life-threatening medical crisis or risk of permanent disability. The Ohio state legislature, which introduced a bill in 2019 requiring doctors to "reimplant an ectopic pregnancy" into the uterus, or face charges of "abortion murder," despite the fact . The brain would not develop, and the infant would die at birth or shortly afterward. However, if the ectopic pregnancy is located in the cervix or on the scar tissue from a cesarean section, the treatment could be the same as an abortion, according to Addante. After Hall made it through the protesters and the clinics security screening, the clinic itself was an oasis, she said. But some health conditions can jeopardize a womans health in the long term but not necessarily constitute an immediate threat to her life. I'm actually headed home right now because I have to await my dead baby's delivery.' Elizabeth knows it was just a terrible coincidence, an awful bureaucratic oversight, and yet it drove home to her how powerless she was, how alone, in that vast medical system of rules, legal regulations and revenue. A recent study also reported 28 women with dangerous pregnancies at two Texas hospitals faced delays for care because fetal cardiac activity was detected, according to the AP. . There was an infection, and she did need treatment. Elizabeth and James keep remembrances of their baby in a picture frame at home. We havent seen a large issue, but there are certainly anecdotes, Thoppil said. This law will prohibit almost all abortions. For 24/7 mental health support in English or Spanish, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations free help line at 800-662-4357. Whether terminating an ectopic pregnancy is legal will depend on individual state laws. Other times patients don't report the problem and miscarry on their own, she said, but without medication they risk additional bleeding. An IUD can make menstruation irregular, and she did not realize she had conceived until after the six-week mark. The facts were grim. Growing up outside Dallas, Hall often heard that abortion was murder and, perhaps worse, interfering with Gods plan. Although distraught and heartbroken at this news, Elizabeth forced herself to think it through. An ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg . pursuant to the preliminary injunction in texas v. becerra, no. In Poland, protests over that countrys abortion laws erupted this year after a 30-year-old pregnant woman died of septic shock. Still, states like Missouri could put this pro-abortion talking point to rest by protecting treatment of ectopic pregnancy explicitly in the law. Took no time at all.. And so they don't even know what the rules are.". When the couple moved from Washington state to Texas in 2021, they were trying to . In one case, a central Texas hospital reportedly told a physician not to treat an ectopic pregnancy until it ruptured, the letter said. "'I'm just using this because this is not a viable pregnancy.'". However, Mayo said that his reading of the law allows for the use of methotrexate to treat an ectopic pregnancy. I'm so sorry.". Elizabeth says. In the nursery upstairs, they had already stashed some baby clothes and new cans of paint. She and her husband immediately jumped into planning mode, scheduling an appointment at one of the only OB-GYN practices in town. Texas laws banning abortions make narrow exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent substantial impairment of major bodily function. And lawmakers in recent years have clarified state statutes to say treatments for miscarriages, known as spontaneous abortions in medicine, and ectopic pregnancies, in which a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus and becomes unviable, do not count as abortions. Selective reductions are forbidden under the new state law. All of Texas abortion laws have exceptions to treat miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, as well as to save the life of the pregnant patient. And for a few tense . Sometimes patients don't realize that they have lost the pregnancy until they come in for a checkup and no cardiac activity can be detected, said Dr. Emily Briggs, a family physician who delivers babies in New Braunfels, Texas. The Oklahoma Senate last week passed six abortion-limiting bills, including one that mirrors the law passed in Texas and another that would ban abortions after 30 days from a woman's last period . Her mental health spiraled to the point that she considered checking herself into the hospital. But there was a vibe immediately. Find a complete list of them here. They were just all shocked, like, Surely, theres an exception for this, Hall said. Methotrexate, another abortion-inducing medication, is used to treat ectopic pregnancies as well as rheumatic illnesses, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and cancer. Many of the patients that we see in my practice already have to drive so far away to get basic prenatal care, Cheng said. John Seago, legislative director for Texas Right to Life, described this type of hesitation as "an awful misunderstanding of the law." "To them my life was not in danger enough.". Treatments for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are still legal under the states abortion ban, according to state law and legal experts. And it had to smell foul, really bad. Elizabeth and James look at clothes that were meant for their baby, whom they lost in the second trimester of pregnancy. If she had any physical ailments, I would never abort her for that issue. The ob-gyn, who said she could not speak to the media, laid out two options, according to Elizabeth. The maternal fetal medicine specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas published a blog post last August to inform patients that treatment for cesarean-scar ectopic pregnancies is legal under Texas's abortion law. The color was darker and the odor was foul. If youre having severe pain, if youre getting a fever, you need to keep your medical team in the loop, Crawford said. "I just cried and screamed in the parking lot," she recalls. "We live in a culture that advocates small government and yet we are allowing states, we are allowing our Texas state government to dictate what women do with their own bodies and to dictate what they think is best, what medical procedures they think is best for them to get.". There are currently no abortion laws that outlaw treatment of ectopic pregnancy. Later in pregnancy, doctors can try to delay delivery to give the fetus more time to develop, while also warding off infection or other maternal complications such as hemorrhage. We do what we can to honor each of those cases.. She wanted to tell these strangers about the day she ran into her husbands home office, pants still around her ankles, waving that positive pregnancy test. Julia Robinson for NPR Her discharge was yellow and smelled weird. Pro-Life policies in Texas do not prevent doctors from treating an ectopic pregnancy. But the lack of clarity accompanying the threat of jail time and six-figure fines for medical professionals has led some hospitals and doctors in the state to deny or delay care for pregnancy complications, according to multiple reports. Join us for Texas biggest politics and policy event when you buy your tickets today. "It wasn't that the Methodist Hospital was refusing to perform a service to me simply because they didn't want to, it was because Texas law put them in a position to where they were intimidated to not perform this procedure.". Time is of the essence. All too often, Cavazos says, patients are told to get over it, move on, try again. I looked at her little hands and I just cried. If a woman's life is in danger, she will be able to have an abortion. And now the Texas abortion law has created an additional bind, Cavazos explains. Delays in care particularly for first-trimester conditions such as bleeding, hemorrhaging, septic miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies can become lethal, said Dr. Natalie Crawford, an OB/GYN and cofounder of a fertility clinic. tex. Were going to take care of you, and youre going to be OK, Hall remembers. Dr. Lauren Thaxton, an OB-GYN and assistant professor at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas-Austin, has already heard about local patients who have been miscarrying, and couldn't get a pharmacy to fill their misoprostol prescription. care provider and intended to remove an ectopic pregnancy that . Many of the protesters had traveled to Washington state all the way from Texas, just like Hall had. Dr. John Thoppil, president of the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said doctors usually note a diagnosis when prescribing medicines, and prescription rejections dont appear to be widespread. But Im still so angry I had to leave.. Since September 1, 2021, Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) has prohibited abortions after the detection of embryonic cardiac activity, which occurs around 6 weeks after a person's last menstrual period . I couldn't give you life. The New Texas Abortion Law Is Putting Some Patients In Danger, A Michigan law from 1931 would make abortion a felony if Roe falls. judicial order, all other provisions of Texas law regulating or Texas' new abortion laws . Dr. Ingrid Skop, a San Antonio obstetrician and member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, during a House Oversight Committee hearing in September. After all, she didnt need an abortion she needed convenient pregnancy care. Under another new Texas abortion law, someone who "aids or abets" an abortion after cardiac activity can be detected typically around six weeks can be subject to at least a $10,000 fine per occurrence. But now "your medical provider says that it's illegal and they can't provide it. An attendee holds her child during A Texas Rally for Abortion Rights at Discovery Green in Houston, Texas, on May 7. Thats why Crawford said its important for patients to quickly seek medical care if they notice their pregnancy isnt progressing normally or they are bleeding. Texas Gov. But Prager believes that the laws in Texas and perhaps elsewhere soon . Just a reminder here that in 2019 an Ohio Republican proposed a bill requiring that in the event of an ectopic pregnancy the zygote must be removed from the fallopian and reimplanted in the uterus or the physician should face murder charges. Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, an obstetrician/gynecologist and abortion provider in Texas, said the new law leaves unclear whether a physician can act when a woman has a spontaneous miscarriage and is bleeding heavily, but the fetus has not passed. The way the system is going to work is that the patients are going to always pay the price, Grossman said. The ethics panel had reached a decision, the doctor told them. Crawford, the OB/GYN and fertility clinic co-founder, said shes seen instances of pharmacies not wanting to fill prescriptions for certain medications that are related to abortions but being used for other treatments. Doctors and experts also worry that patients with pregnancy complications may be too afraid of being accused of inducing an abortion to seek care. She would either have to get sick enough for . Greg Abbott, who signed it, and on the inflamed political rhetoric, which Elizabeth says only sees abortion "as one thing, a black-and-white issue, when abortion has all of these gray areas. Anyone can bring that civil action, posing a quandary for physicians and other providers. Now she wants those sentiments translated into action. Question women in America now have to ask. "Abortion and pregnancy outcomes are under a microscopein a way we . Halls entire vision of this pregnancy giving birth, becoming a mom, watching her daughter grow up evaporated in an instant. After she got through the first trimester, Hall and her husband both heaved a sigh of relief and got to work telling their friends and family. We both have good jobs, weve got a house and we were at a place where if it happens, it happens, she said. In Texas, a 2021 law made it easier to sue anyone who helps a person get an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. New, untested abortion bans have made doctors unsure about treating some pregnancy complications, which has led to life-threatening delays and trapped families in a limbo of grief and helplessness . ", "Because that doesn't really exist right now," he added. They had bought a house in Kingwood, a lakeside development in Houston. A clinical battle begins behind the scenes. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times. Dr. John Thoppil, an obstetrician in Austin who is president of the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that shortly after the new law went into effect in September, a patient who relied on an intrauterine device for birth control became pregnant. I think most people would give tremendously leeway to that. The Texas Tribune Festival is almost here! Their daughter, as expected, was stillborn. If patients run into trouble filling prescriptions, Thoppil and Crawford say they should try to find another pharmacy or talk to their health care provider. Many offer no exemptions for rape, incest or fetal anomolies. I personally would never get one. In Texas' anti-abortion . not include an abortion that uses suction to dismember the body of an unborn child by sucking pieces of the unborn child into a . Hall has struggled with depression, and as the weekend wore on, her mental health deteriorated. Julia Robinson for NPR When they learned they were having a girl, Hall and her husband even picked out a name: Amelia. I would consider what I experienced that weekend a medical emergency.. ", The Wellers do want to try again, but first they need to get to a "mentally healthier place," Elizabeth says. It was just a matter of time before the baby died, or maybe Id have to go through the trauma of carrying to term knowing I wasnt bringing a baby home, said 27-year-old Lauren Hall. You're not going to tell me that what I'm experiencing isn't real, again.". And at least one Texas pharmacy has let area physicians know that they would no longer dispense methotrexate, the medication used to treat ectopic pregnancy, citing the law. , no now because I have to await my dead baby 's delivery. ''... Again. `` and her husband immediately jumped into planning mode, scheduling an at... Pieces of the protesters and the infant would die at birth or shortly.! 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