texas abortion law ectopic pregnancy
It just seems cruel and unusual.. Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 245. "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.". Despite the tragedy she was facing, Hall knew she was one of the lucky ones. "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.". 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. Whether terminating an ectopic pregnancy is legal will depend on individual state laws. Missouri legislators held a hearing on a bill that, if signed into law, would make it a felony to "perform or induce an abortion" to treat ectopic pregnancy. The definition of abortion in Texas Health and Safety Code explicitly states an act that is done to "remove an ectopic pregnancy" is not defined as an abortion. The abortion clinic is less than a mile from Texas, where abortion is illegal. A miscarriage is generally defined as the loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy typically because of complications outside of a patients control. And quickly. CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- A Conroe woman who suffered a miscarriage says the state's restrictive abortion laws forced her into a dangerous health situation. Were going to take care of you, and youre going to be OK, Hall remembers. Yet under the new law, Dr. Thoppil felt he could not counsel her on terminating the pregnancy. Julia Robinson for NPR I would always say, What if it was necessary to save the life of the mother? Cedar River offers specialty care for patients facing lethal fetal abnormalities like anencephaly. Laws modelled on Texas's S.B. "Most women would find it extremely difficult and emotionally very challenging. 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. Once inside the car, they both burst into tears, for their baby and the terrible choices they were now left to navigate. In Texas' anti-abortion . Elizabeth Weller never dreamed that her own hopes for a child would become ensnared in the web of Texas abortion law. We do what we can to honor each of those cases.. The facts were grim. Hall went on to become a nurse and, together with her husband, created a life in the same town where they both grew up. A miscarriage is generally defined as the loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy typically because of complications outside of a patient's control. But the statutes dont account for complicated miscarriages, and confusion has led some providers to delay or deny care for patients in Texas. 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. For the women, expectant management after premature rupture of membranes comes with its own health risks. The new law in Texas bans abortion at 6 weeks when a fetal "heartbeat" can be detected. Amplify your impact and donate now. John Seago, legislative director for Texas Right to Life, described this type of hesitation as "an awful misunderstanding of the law." But the womans condition can quickly deteriorate, which is why physicians often prefer to offer an abortion. I was losing my mind, Hall said. "I wouldn't say this is true for our practice," he said. SB 8, which was signed into law by Texas Gov. the U.S. that have trigger laws in place banning abortion in the . Her water had broken midway through the pregnancy, but her doctors, fearing prosecution if they violated the abortion ban, did not begin treating her until the fetuss heart stopped on its own. "Being pregnant in a state like Texas is a dangerous . The slew of anti-abortion legislation comes on the heels of a Texas law, passed in June, which banned abortions after about six weeks into a pregnancybefore most people realize they are pregnant. "It's this woman who was saying 'Hi Miss Weller, you're at the 19 week mark. ), hhs may not enforce the following interpretations contained in the july 11, 2022, cms guidance (and the corresponding letter sent the same day by hhs secretary becerra): (1) hhs may not enforce the guidance and letter's interpretation that texas abortion laws are preempted by emtala; and (2) hhs may . Julia Robinson for NPR Sept. 1, 1989. You have to suddenly leave for a medical procedure, and you dont know whats going to happen, so despite everything that made me leave, it was a relief to be back home, she said. The patient ended up driving 15 hours to New Mexico for life-saving treatment after no one in Texas would help her. So I'm here to call you to register for your delivery on October 5th, so I can collect all your insurance information. 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. I knew something was wrong.. The Texas Health and Safety Code allows abortion in cases of an ectopic pregnancy or during a "medical emergency," when a "life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or . "I can tell that she's been beat down, because she has been trying to fight for me all day, advocating on my behalf," Elizabeth says. But those numbers have skyrocketed since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The other miscarriage treatment is a procedure described as surgical uterine evacuation to remove the pregnancy tissue the same approach as for an abortion. If someone is hemorrhaging while miscarrying, how long do I have to wait?. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether abortion providers and the Biden administration may challenge the law notwithstanding its novel structure. I'm trying to understand. You're trying to understand exactly what's going on. Its our 10th year participating in Amplify, and to celebrate, weve got $15,000 in matching funds from four generous Tribune supporters. Many state laws with new restrictions on abortion make exceptions for ectopics, but uncertainties can arise if a fetus implants on Caesarean scar tissue on the uterus wall or if it cannot be . Some supporters of the law say that it does not forbid a doctor to counsel a woman about abortion or refer her to an abortion provider outside Texas. Halls maternal-fetal medicine specialist laid out the best-case scenario: If she managed to carry to term and deliver a live baby, with miracles of medicine, science and technology, they might be able to keep her alive for a few weeks, tied to machines and without hope of recovery. There was still a fetal heartbeat, but it could stop at any moment. In the medical profession, doctors will continue to grapple with the new legal restrictions, and the resultant dilemmas in obstetrical care, says Dr. Peaceman. Most recently, the Oklahoma Senate passed six abortion-limiting bills , including one that would ban abortions after 30 days from a woman's last . KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Grumet: Fears over Texas' abortion laws interfere with urgent, life-saving care. Sept. 20, 2022 But then an overwhelming sense of calm washed over her. All the changes your body faces in pregnancy are going to be very similar, no matter if your fetus is viable or whether the baby wont survive on the outside, said Cheng, who is also a fellow at Physicians for Reproductive Health. The way the system is going to work is that the patients are going to always pay the price, Grossman said. Her doctor said she had been calling other hospitals, but none of them would help. Carrying the pregnancy to term would be emotionally grueling and would also raise the mothers risk of blood clots and severe postpartum bleeding, the doctor warned. Dr. Palmer, the obstetrician in Fort Worth, said that one of her patients was trying to get pregnant after the new law went into effect, and she had consensual sex with her partner. Texas' current heartbeat ban enables private citizens to sue anyone who helps someone get an abortion after about six weeks. Nitsch says she chose sterilization at age 36 rather than risk getting pregnant by another rapist. And theyve had to navigate complicated politics when sharing their news. The next day, Elizabeth's ob-gyn came to the hospital to arrange the procedure. There they found themselves pinned down, clinically and emotionally, victims of a collision between standard obstetrical practice and the rigid new demands of Texas law. Many physicians disagree, pointing out that the law can disrupt care for pregnant women who have underlying health problems that are not immediately life-threatening, such as pulmonary hypertension or certain types of cancer. ", "Because that doesn't really exist right now," he added. She called her doctor and begged to get in. Elizabeth chose to go home rather than wait to get sick at the hospital. "Later they laid down this beautiful baby girl in my arms. And she just recklessly and negligently goes out and gets abortions all willy-nilly, left and right," she says. Still, states like Missouri could put this pro-abortion talking point to rest by protecting treatment of ectopic pregnancy explicitly in the law. "And that may mean in certain circumstances protecting the mother in this situation and the child passing away.". For a fetus at 18 weeks, the chance of survival in that state is almost nonexistent, according to Peaceman: "This is probably about as close to zero as you'll ever get in medicine.". James rushed home from work and drove Elizabeth to the nearby Woodlands Hospital, part of the Houston Methodist hospital system. Even with the slim chance of survival to 24 weeks, the newborn would face intense physical challenges and aggressive medical interventions. She was through with being dismissed, being told to wait. Notably, under Texas' law, at least one patient was told to wait until her ectopic pregnancy ruptured her fallopian tubewhich would have put her at immediate risk of death from hemorrhage . An IUD can make menstruation irregular, and she did not realize she had conceived until after the six-week mark. She never had to use that bag. Eventually, she found a clinic near Seattle that provides specialty care for patients who have decided to terminate due to lethal fetal abnormalities. These situations can create significant moral distress for patients and providers, said Bryn Esplin, a bioethicist and assistant professor of medical education at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. Down in the kitchen, images from recent scans and ultrasounds were stuck to the fridge. Texas abortion laws make no exception for these cases, which are not as rare as people would like to imagine, said Dr. John Thoppil, an Austin OB-GYN and president of the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Among other risks, both the fetus and Elizabeth were now highly vulnerable to a uterine infection called chorioamnionitis. The Texas law, which is also called Senate Bill 8, carves out an exception for termination in a medical emergency, which is defined in the states health code as a life-threatening physical condition caused or aggravated by pregnancy that places the woman in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function.. . "Because I didn't want anybody to tell me they did not believe me," she says. Double your gift when you give by 6 p.m. Thursday. Ectopic pregnancy develops in an estimated 2% of reported pregnancies. "And she starts to cry and she tells me: 'They're not going to touch you.' One option was to end the pregnancy; that's called "a termination for medical reasons." Under Texas law, doctors can be sued by almost anyone for performing an abortion. In Texas, the second-largest state in the nation, legal abortion immediately ceased to be an option except to save the life of the pregnant patient. Since the Texas laws include a stipulation that there must be intent to induce an abortion, Mayo said that he'd advise physicians and other clinicians to closely document the rationale for medical care, whether it's to treat a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy. It was someone else at Methodist Hospital, perhaps a clerk, calling to go over some paperwork. 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. Very young rape victims tend to seek prenatal care late, and they are more likely to have small babies that score poorly on tests of heart rate and muscle tone given immediately after birth. But the Wellers and 28 million other Texans had already been living under a de facto abortion ban for 8 months, since September 2021. In 2012, a woman died in Ireland after her waters broke at 17 weeks and doctors refused to give her an abortion. If I offer the patient the standard of care, I could be sued for aiding and abetting, he said. And it's this stupid, like, distinction that you're just making in this grief. Maybe they could get the abortion in Denver or Albuquerque. Amplify your impact and donate now. Either way, she saw nothing ahead but fear and grief prolonged, delayed, amplified. I'm actually headed home right now because I have to await my dead baby's delivery.' "Any law that creates a hesitancy for physicians to uphold the standard of care for a patient has a cascade of harmful effects both for the patient but also for everyone else," said Esplin. At least several OB-GYNs in the Austin area received a letter from a pharmacy in late 2021 saying it would no longer fill the drug methotrexate in the case of ectopic pregnancy, citing the recent Texas laws, said Dr. Charlie Brown, an Austin-based obstetrician-gynecologist who provided a copy to KHN. But studies show that pregnant teenagers are more prone than older women to developing a dangerous condition called pre-eclampsia, and they are more likely to have preterm deliveries, small babies and stillbirths. I couldnt do that., by Eleanor Klibanoff And not only can they not provide it, but they can't talk to you about it," Cavazos says. DEFINITIONS. 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. But the point will be made by the Christian Taliban that women have only the value their reading of the Bible ascribed to them and no more. 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