Image: Dr Anna Igler

I’m an ob-gyn. I was forced to travel out of state to end my wanted pregnancy

“My world turned upside down at my 24-week anatomy scan when I saw my baby on the ultrasound monitor.” Like so many people who have chosen to terminate a pregnancy out of love and compassion for their babies, I felt violated by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. As attacks on access to abortion and reproductive health care escalate, my grief is evolving into rage.

Carrying a pregnancy at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was stressful, especially as a health care provider who saw patients every day. But I was exceedingly cautious. I took steps to protect myself, my family and the little girl we were eager to welcome into the world. When I learned that I had been unknowingly infected with an entirely different virus, and that I had passed it to my daughter in utero, I was devastated. In an instant, my husband and I went from organizing a nursery to organizing a trip out of state to terminate a pregnancy we desperately wanted.

As an ob-gyn with nearly a decade of experience, I knew immediately that something was wrong. Nora’s head measured extremely small (<1%), and it was clear that she had microcephaly, a serious condition related to brain development. Microcephaly can have many causes, some with minor health implications and others with more serious consequences. I needed more testing to understand what was going on with my baby.

The devastating results came back two days later. My daughter had been infected with a common virus that typically infects people in early childhood, cytomegalovirus (CMV). This virus isn’t dangerous to most people, and there is no vaccine. However, if a developing baby contracts this in early pregnancy through the mother, it can cause a severe fetal infection. I knew that the condition meant I could lose Nora Rose at any moment, and if she survived, she would live with devastating developmental and mental disabilities.

At the time, Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land, but in Wisconsin, abortion was banned after 21 6/7 weeks. At 25-weeks pregnant, with COVID-19 infections surging across the country, I was forced to travel to Colorado to do what was best for Nora Rose. Brokenhearted, my husband and I made the trip and ended our pregnancy.

I wish I could have stayed in a place near my doctors and the support of my loved ones. Instead, my husband and I had to leave our son and fly across the country to an office where everything and everyone was unfamiliar. It was the most painful plane ride of my life.

My abortion was a multiple-day process that had us there for almost a week. Logistically most people would struggle to afford this time and financial burden; the procedure cost $6,000, not including travel and other expenses.

There were protesters outside the office shouting at me and my husband. We wanted and loved our baby, and these people had no knowledge of our heartbreaking tragedy, yet they yelled at us and judged us. This was unbelievably cruel and painful.

Every new attack on access to abortion and reproductive health care feels like a stinging indictment of my choice as a medical professional, and as a parent. Politicians have no business making personal medical decisions for anyone. I know that more attacks are coming, and I am steeling myself for what’s ahead.

I am also enraged that politicians with no medical degree, knowledge or expertise are telling me and all obstetricians how to take care of our patients. This is dangerous, and we will continue to see women suffer and die until there is federal protection for abortion across every state.

I am outraged by the relentless attacks on abortion access, but more than anything, I am insulted by the lies that anti-abortion extremists are telling millions of Americans today. They want to ban abortion nationwide and demonize people like me, but they know that the majority of Americans support protecting access to abortion. Last week, seven states passed ballot initiatives to protect, restore, and expand abortion access. Instead of being honest about their plans to roll back our rights even further, extremist lawmakers are attempting to distance themselves from these unpopular and dangerous policies. I won’t let that happen. I am sharing my story and telling the truth about how abortion bans hurt women and families.

In sharing my story, I’ve found passion, purpose and community. I am a proud member of a Facebook group for people who have experienced pregnancy loss or made difficult decisions of their own. We are over 3,000 members strong, and we offer one another support, understanding and compassion. No matter who is the president, we will continue to build strength and resilience.

Pregnancy can be complicated, and what we’ve experienced is not uncommon. That’s why I continue to share my story, even when it is painful and difficult to relive. The stakes have never been higher, and we have to be explicit. Attacks on reproductive freedom hurt all of us, and we deserve better than the future anti-abortion extremists have planned.

SOURCE: HuffPost, by Dr Anna Igler, 11 November 2024

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Kentucky woman seeking abortion files lawsuit challenging state’s near-total ban

A woman in the state of Kentucky who is seeking an abortion filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to strike down the state’s near-total ban. Her suit, filed in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, alleges that two Kentucky abortion laws violate the state constitution’s rights to privacy and self-determination.

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement shared with NBC News that the lawsuit reflects “the severe harms that she is suffering because the state government has denied her access to the care she needs.” She was seven weeks pregnant when the suit was filed.

The lawsuit is also requesting class-action status for everyone in Kentucky who is seeking access to abortion in the state but is not allowed to receive the medical treatment because of the state’s abortion laws.

SOURCE: NBC News, by Daniella Silva, 12 November 2024. PHOTO: Getty Images. From Lexington Herald, 2022. Lexington protest against the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, 2022.

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Idaho women recount non-viable pregnancy diagnoses under total abortion ban

Four women are suing the state of Idaho over its total abortion ban. abcnews published their stories and those of 14 others with similar situations: a wanted pregnancy, tests in the second trimester that indicated fetal conditions that were non-viable and/or definitely or very likely fatal, and could seriously affect the life and health of the pregnant woman.

Several women took the stand in an Idaho courtroom on 12 November to testify about their own pregnancies as part of the lawsuit.

One of them, Rebecca, described delivering her pregnancy in the bathroom of a hotel room after she drove seven hours to receive abortion care in Oregon. She passed her pregnancy after the first day of a two-day abortion procedure, with her child in the next room. Rebecca had discovered at a 16-week anatomy scan that her fetus had several fatal conditions and was unlikely to survive. Doctors also said there were risks to her own life and health — including pre-eclampsia, haemorrhage, high risk of miscarrying and risks to her fertility — if she continued the pregnancy.

She began experiencing labour contractions in her hotel room and hours later delivered the pregnancy, but didn’t go to an emergency room. She testified: “We didn’t have insurance to cover it, because we were out of state. We didn’t have a car because our car was locked down the street in valet with a hotel. In the morning, a couple of people from the clinic came to our hotel room, they collected the baby from the bathroom, and then helped clean me up and walked me over to the clinic and finished the procedure.”

Earlier on in the trial, according to the article, attorneys for the state made the argument that Idaho case law does not have protections for a right to fertility. [The meaning of this claim is unclear. Ed.] Idaho’s total abortion ban only allows abortion to prevent death. But if these case histories are not about precisely that, then what are they? Idaho is one of 13 US states that ceased nearly all abortion services since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Another woman and her husband drove over eight hours to the University of Washington Hospital for her to get an induction. They received an estimate for the cost of the procedure of $16,000 to $20,000, and had to take out a loan to pay for it.

SOURCE: abcnews, by Nadine El-Bawab, 12 November 2024