Texas woman forced to carry her foul discharge to hospital just so she can be 'granted' an abortion

It’s been more than a month since the Supreme Court of the United States or SCOTUS overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which enshrined American women's right to safe and legal abortion. Since then, many states have come out with their own laws banning or severely limiting abortions. These untested bans have left doctors unsure about treating cases that may be mistaken for "abortions", which include complicated pregnancies. This is exactly what happened to a Texas woman, according to a report by NPR, who had to carry her own putrid discharge into the hospital to demonstrate that an infection was killing her and that she was ultimately in enough danger to end her life-threatening pregnancy.

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This may come as a surprise to you, but the incident didn't actually happen recently, it took place in May, a month before the 1973 ruling was overturned. 

It happened because of Texas 'Heartbeat' Bill.

"Abortions are sometimes needed out of an act of an emergency, out of an act of saving a woman's life. Or hell — honestly it shouldn't even get to the point where you're having to save a woman's life," said the 26-year-old Elizabeth Weller who had to bear this nightmare.

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Weller was 18 weeks along in a pregnancy, she really wanted when her water broke prematurely. She didn't have enough amniotic fluid to help sustain the foetus' life. She was informed that the foetus would probably die or struggle in agonising ways for its survival. 

However, the foetus’s heart was still beating. The medical staff at the hospital in the Houston region felt that Weller wasn't in enough danger to risk breaking Texas' six-week abortion ban despite symptoms of chorioamnionitis, which can result in a lethal infection. 

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Officials at the hospital advised her to choose between going home and waiting for her foetus to die inside her or waiting at the hospital until she became ill enough to qualify as a "medical emergency," as allowed by Texas law.

The horrifying incident begs the question: How many similar cases have taken place since the nationwide ruling took effect? How many delays caused by legal restrictions resulted in delays that were life-threatening and imprisoned families in a limbo of helplessness and grief?

(With inputs from agencies)

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