Sarah was 24 years old when she became a single mother to two children. One of her children had special needs and Sarah was the only child. She was in terrible pain days before Mother’s Day, and only a few months after she had escaped her abusive partner. She was in danger of sudden death within hours.
Sarah was unaware that she was nearing the end her first trimester. Instead of the embryo growing in her uterus it was instead developing at her fallopian tubes. Her tube was about to burst and she had an ectopic baby.
She required an abortion immediately. Her doctor advised her to have an abortion immediately. Without it, the tube would burst and she’d bleed to death.
She told CBS News that she was shocked. “…But you know what? If I hadn’t been able to get it, I would have died, and my children would still have a father who was abusive and didn’t know how to care for their special needs. My children would not have survived if I had died.
Sarah is just one of many women who experienced these pregnancies and were able to save their lives by having an abortion.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade to reverse it, the 1973 landmark case which protected the right of abortion, has opened up a new area of concern when it comes medical emergencies like Sarah’s.
CBS News’ Dr. Amy Addante said, “In my years as an OB-GYN I’ve seen things I didn’t know were possible to complicate pregnancies.” “…There are many other pathologies that could make it necessary for a woman to not become pregnant in order to preserve their health.
Dr. Louise Perkins King is an OB-GYN at Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics and directs reproductive bioethics. She told CBS News that there are many things that could go wrong during a pregnancy. It was something she had experienced.
HELLP syndrome was a severe form preeclampsia she experienced while pregnant. It causes the liver to fail, platelet counts to drop, and spontaneous hemorhaging. It can lead to stroke and death if not treated promptly.
She said, “Pregnancy can be dangerous, especially if it is carried to term.”
Ectopic pregnancy can lead to HELLP syndrome and hypertension. Pregnant women may also experience seizures, heart disease, liver problems, cardiac disorders, pulmonary function issues, sepsis, and complications during delivery. These conditions can sometimes be life-threatening.
“Pregnancy can take a huge toll on your body. King stated that because of this toll, everyone needs to be able decide for themselves whether or not they want to take on all the risks and complications. “Almost everyone will experience some form of discomfort or risk during pregnancy.”
Addante stated that many pregnancies are healthy and manageable throughout their entire term. However, complications can occur and Addante warned that it could be dangerous. Other issues such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia can also pose hazard to subsequent pregnancies.
Many women have used social media to share their experiences since the court’s decision.
“We were desperate with the baby we had been desperately trying to have,” Amanda Huber (the widow of pro wrestler Jon Huber) wrote on Twitter about a pregnancy she had in Oct 2015. “Something felt off.”
Jon was on a tour to Mexico. We were expecting a baby that we had been trying desperately for. Something was not right. Although I had experienced some mild spotting the previous week, blood tests confirmed that it was still present. He headed for Mexico. He experienced one of the most memorable nights of his professional career.
Huber went to the hospital, and waited hours for her to be seen. Huber heard her “peanut”‘s heartbeat when they did an ultrasound. After an ultrasound, she heard the heartbeat for her “peanut”. She was bleeding.
“I had no choice but to end this unwanted pregnancy. This was the pregnancy whose heartbeat I heard. She wrote that she would never ever, ever again have a f***ing child. “A pregnancy that would leave my three-year-old child without a mother and my husband widowed.”
She was immediately taken to emergency surgery. Doctors told her that if she hadn’t stopped her bleeding within an hour, she could have lost her ovary. She would have needed a hysterectomy if her bleeding hadn’t stopped within a matter of hours. She would’ve been dead if she had waited 12 hours.
Huber had a miscarriage a few years later that her body wouldn’t expel. The fetal tissues needed to be removed. If this is not done, sepsis can develop that could prove fatal.
Huber said that the moral of this story was: “Abortion f***ing healthcare. It shouldn’t be necessary for me to share my trauma in order to make it “ok.” I know I will hear, “But your story is the exception” and it won’t be something I want to hear. “I’m wealthy and white, so I’m the exception.”
Dr. Addante stated that pregnancy complications like these can be caused by a variety of factors including individual health history and lack of access to health care. Many people have been denied the opportunity to access the help they need for years because of systemic issues such as poverty, racism, and economic status.
Addante stated that those affected by injustices will feel the pain more than those with more resources.
She stated that Roe’s overturning will make it more dangerous to have a baby. “We know from experience that the United States does not offer the same level of safety as other countries.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 861 U.S. women died in 2020 while pregnant or within 42 days after giving birth. This is a maternal mortality rate 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live-born babies. Black women died at a rate that was twice the national average (55.3 deaths per 100,000 live-births).
These numbers are predicted to rise by CBS News’s doctors, according to CBS News.
King stated, “Many, many people are going to die.”
According to her, doctors will be faced with a difficult situation if Roe is overturned. Some states will not allow abortions if the life of a pregnant woman, or their health, is at risk.
“But how do we define that?” She said. A doctor could be charged with negligence if they do not know what the state will allow.
King stated, “Either they’re willing to intervene quickly and face all the consequences that I have described…or they’re going wait to intervene. In this case, they might lose a patient and she will die.”
Not only are medical emergencies a concern, Drs. Both said that the mental health implications of forcing a woman to have an unplanned pregnancy can be very serious.
They cited the well-known Turnaway Study which spent years tracking the consequences for women who had or denied abortion access. People denied abortions were more likely than others to experience an increase in poverty or debt, to have additional health problems, and to remain in contact with violent partners even though they were raising their children.
King said that she has never met anyone who would casually choose to have an abortion. These families need support. They don’t need any legal restrictions on their ability make the right decisions for themselves.
Both doctors felt angry and betrayed by the legal turn.
King stated, “This should make everyone feel deep outraged and a deep feeling of betrayal.” “…As an individual, I have less rights if my reproductive age is reached and I have a uterus that can control my body. I would be able to exercise the same rights if I was dead.
Addante stated, “It’s betrayal to my oath.”
She said, “When I became physician, I took an Oath to serve people to the best my ability.” “And now, I am being limited by someone who didn’t take the same oath. It is a betrayal to the patients who entrusted me their care.”
Those who have had abortions in the past also feel this anger and frustration. Sarah, now 40 years old, keeps a box that was kept from her last pregnancy. It is inscribed “In Loving Memory” and contains pictures, a pregnancy test, and a birthstone necklace.
She still has to deal with the issues of her ectopic pregnancy. This, she stated, is a clear indication of how serious a concern pregnancy can be and the dangers that it poses for those who don’t have the option.
She said, “People like me will perish.” “People who have miscarriages or fetuses that aren’t healthy, and people with incomplete miscarriages — these people are basically condemned to death, because no one will touch them.”