Women Are Speaking Out After Being Refused Care While Pregnant & in Medical Distress

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In the United States, federal law says no hospital can deny a woman an abortion if it is medically necessary to save the mother's life. Dozens of pregnant women, however, claim they were refused care at US hospitals that left them with severe consequences. Some have been forced to miscarry in public bathrooms, while others are facing infertility challenges following what they see as medical neglect.

The Associated Press reported that more than 100 women have wound up in medical distress after being refused pregnancy care since 2022, according to an AP analysis of federal hospital investigations. Some doctors say their hands are tied and the government isn't helping. Abortion bans in some states continue to make it difficult for women to receive the care they need, and women are speaking up.

One woman claims her reproductive health was ruined because she was refused care.

@canwedobetterplease #Texas mother forced to carry nonviable pregnancy to term due to #abortionban #abortionisessentialhealthcare #womensrights #womenshealth #bodilyautonomy #roevwade #dobbsvjackson #fyp ♬ original sound - betterlatethannever - bbmccoy

Kyliegh Thurman showed up at the emergency room at Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital in Round Rock, Texas, with abnormal bleeding and said she was handed a pamphlet on miscarriage and told to "let nature take its course." Three days later, her bleeding continued, and doctors finally agreed to give her a shot to end the pregnancy.

But by this point, the fertilized egg had grown into her fallopian tube and ruptured. Part of her reproductive system was permanently destroyed. She filed a complaint with the help of the Center for Reproductive Rights against Ascension Seton Williamson, claiming she was misled by the hospital.

Thurman isn't alone.

Per AP, women have had to miscarry in public bathrooms, and one woman went into septic shock that led to miscarriage. Others were unable to get aid with their miscarriages, and a California woman ended up needing a blood transfusion after sitting in a hospital waiting room for nine hours during an active miscarriage.

Some doctors are terrified about legal consequences.

In Texas, a doctor who performs an illegal abortion can be sent to jail for 99 years. But Marc Hearron, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, argues doctors also need to understand federal law.

"As fearful as hospitals and doctors are of running afoul of these state abortion bans, they also need to be concerned about running afoul of federal law," Hearron said, per AP.

It's not just states where abortion is banned.

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According to the AP report, states that do not have abortion bans but do face understaffing issues have had similar stories. Hospitals in Idaho and Washington reported sending pregnant women to alternative hospitals because they didn't have enough staff to treat them.

A California mother wasn't treated quickly enough and had a uterine rupture that may have caused her baby's death.

Pregnancy complications can be serious.

It is important for a mom and her baby to be cared for and listened to. Self-advocacy is essential, but sadly, it's not always enough.

Dara Kass, an emergency medicine doctor and former US Health and Human Services official, told the AP that pregnancy is no joke. "It is increasingly less safe to be pregnant and seeking emergency care in an emergency department," she said.