Under Texas’ Abortion Ban, Where a Pregnant Woman Lives Can Determine Her Risk of Developing Sepsis

POLITICO - by Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser and Andrea Suozzo
May 7, 2025

Nearly four years ago in Texas, the state’s new abortion law started getting in the way of basic miscarriage care: As women waited in hospitals cramping, fluid running down their legs, doctors told them they couldn’t empty their uterus to guard against deadly complications.

The state banned most abortions, even in pregnancies that were no longer viable; then, it added criminal penalties, threatening to imprison doctors for life and punish hospitals. The law had one exception, for a life-threatening emergency.

Continued: https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-sepsis-rates-dallas-houston


Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.

ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.

by Lizzie Presser, Andrea Suozzo, Sophie Chou and Kavitha Surana
Feb. 20, 2025

Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion in 2021, ProPublica found in a first-of-its-kind data analysis.

The rate of sepsis shot up more than 50% for women hospitalized when they lost their pregnancies in the second trimester, ProPublica found.

The surge in this life-threatening condition, caused by infection, was most pronounced for patients whose fetus may still have had a heartbeat when they arrived at the hospital.

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-sepsis-maternal-mortality-analysis


A Pregnant Teenager Died After Trying to Get Care in Three Visits to Texas Emergency Rooms

It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened. Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm “fetal demise.” She’s one of at least two Texas women who died under the state’s abortion ban.

by Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana
Nov. 1, 2024

Candace Fails screamed for someone in the Texas hospital to help her pregnant daughter. “Do something,” she pleaded, on the morning of Oct. 29, 2023.

Nevaeh Crain was crying in pain, too weak to walk, blood staining her thighs. Feverish and vomiting the day of her baby shower, the 18-year-old had gone to two different emergency rooms within 12 hours, returning home each time worse than before.

Continued: https://www.propublica.org/article/nevaeh-crain-death-texas-abortion-ban-emtala


A Young Woman Almost Died Due to Texas’ Abortion Bans. Now She’s Battling to Save Other Women

Jan 12, 2024
by BONNIE FULLER

“I can’t carry a pregnancy again,” Amanda Zurawski said sadly, but matter of factly. The Austin, Texas, resident will never be able to carry a pregnancy again because she was refused a necessary abortion in her state after her water broke at 18 weeks, long before her baby would have been viable.

Tragically, the delay in receiving what used to be normal healthcare allowed a massive bacterial infection to develop and turn into life-threatening sepsis—which ravaged her body and reproductive organs.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2024/01/12/amanda-zurawski-texas-abortion-kate-cox-republicans-womens-health/


‘Our hearts hurt’: Men impacted by abortion restrictions share their stories

ABC News interviewed 18 women who say their medical care was impacted by bans.

By Nadine El-Bawab, Christina Ng, and Tess Scott
December 23, 2023

ABC News brought together 18 women from across 10 states who say their medical care was impacted by abortion bans -- bringing some of them to the brink. These women said they have been turned away in medical emergencies for not being sick enough and had their health care delayed or denied due to state laws.

The women were not alone. Their partners walked alongside them on the journey, and together they faced the life-changing fallout from abortion bans in their home states. This story details these men’s experiences -- in their own words.

Stephen Anaya was thrilled when he heard the news that his wife Kristen was pregnant with a girl. The two had been trying to have a baby for more than two years, and both had medical procedures to help make their dream a reality.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/US/hearts-hurt-men-impacted-abortion-restrictions-share-stories/story?id=105869733


Part 1 – Fighting for their lives: Women and the impact of abortion restrictions in post-Roe America

Women had to wait until they were sick enough to get care in their home states.

By Nadine El-Bawab, Tess Scott, Christina Ng, and Acacia Nunes
December 14, 2023

Anya Cook had reason to celebrate. After 17 miscarriages, she was pregnant again, in her second trimester, and she and her husband, Derick, were ready to share the good news with family and friends.

After the joyous announcement in December 2022, Anya and Derick attended the Coral Springs holiday parade in their Florida neighborhood, then went to dinner at a local restaurant. It was a good end to a good day.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/US/fighting-lives-women-impact-abortion-restrictions-post-roe/story?id=105563174


USA – Lawsuit: Woman died after not being treated properly following abortion

By David Wilson, Las Vegas Review-Journal
September 22, 2023

A 24-year-old woman died last year of complications from septic abortion which, according to a wrongful death lawsuit, could have been prevented if she received the proper care.

On Sept. 22, 2022, Alyona Dixon visited a Planned Parenthood location and was given medication to terminate her pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/lawsuit-woman-died-after-not-being-treated-properly-following-abortion-2908866/


‘How sick is sick enough?’ Abortion bans leave providers, patients questioning when care is OK

Saturday, September 2, 2023
By Elise Catrion Gregg | News21

AUSTIN, Texas — Amanda and Josh Zurawski sit in the house they bought last year, the dream home they intended to share with their future daughter.

They’ve told their story too many times now, but they brace themselves to tell it once more — from a room just above the backyard where they will one day plant a tree in memory of the baby who never made it home.
It will be a willow, in honor of the name they chose for their little girl.

Continued: https://nondoc.com/2023/09/02/how-sick-is-sick-enough-abortion-bans-leave-providers-patients-questioning-when-care-is-ok/


TESTIFYING AGAINST TEXAS, WOMEN DENIED ABORTIONS RELIVE THE PREGNANCIES THAT ALMOST KILLED THEM

One plaintiff vomited while recounting her ordeal. The case marks the first time patients denied abortions have sued a state since Roe was overturned.

Mary Tuma
July 21 2023

WHEN SAMANTHA CASIANO learned she was pregnant last year, she and her husband felt excitement. The 29-year-old mother of four and lifelong Texas resident began collecting baby toys and a bassinet for her fifth child. During a routine ultrasound at 20 weeks, she was chatting up the technician when the room suddenly grew silent. Casiano’s doctor delivered grim news: Her baby had anencephaly, a lethal condition in which the skull and brain fail to develop.

“My first thought was, maybe surgery can fix this, but I was told, ‘Sorry, your daughter is incompatible with life, she will be born without a skull,’” Casiano said in a Texas district court hearing on Wednesday. “She was going to die inside or outside of my womb.”

Continued: https://theintercept.com/2023/07/21/texas-abortion-zurawski-lawsuit/


One year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, abortion care has become a patchwork of confusing state laws that deepen existing inequalities

June 21, 2023
Heidi Fantasia

In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling struck down the constitutional right to abortion, society has been seeing the results of a post-Roe world.

While there is no law in the U.S. that regulates what a man can do with his body, the reproductive health of women is now more regulated than it has been in 50 years. And the scope of reproductive health care that women can receive is highly dependent on where they live.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/one-year-after-the-fall-of-roe-v-wade-abortion-care-has-become-a-patchwork-of-confusing-state-laws-that-deepen-existing-inequalities-207390