Ectopic pregnancies, a condition in which the fertilized egg implants itself in the fallopian tubes, can be life-threatening to the mother if left untreated and are non-viable. The condition also falls under the state's exceptions for medically necessary abortions. Still, two women have reported that Arlington Memorial Hospital and Round Rock's Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital turned them away out of fear of being prosecuted under Texas' strict abortion bans, the Texas Tribune reports.
According to the complaint, Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz was diagnosed with a tubal ectopic pregnancy by an emergency room physician at Arlington Memorial Hospital. The physician instructed Norris-De La Cruz to have an injection of
methotrexate or surgery to remove the pregnancy, and she elected for the latter. After the on-call OB-GYN arrived, the hospital instructed Norris-De La Cruz to come back in 48 hours, the complaint states. The conversation became "heated" after Norris-De La Cruz's mother asked if the refusal to treat her daughter's condition was tied to state abortion bans.
“The OB/GYN confirmed it was possible that Ms. Norris-De La Cruz could rupture over the next 48 hours and subsequently stormed out of the room," the complaint alleges.
Texas Health could not be immediately reached by the Observer for comment.
“I ended up losing half of my fertility, and if I was made to wait any longer, it’s very likely I would have died,” Norris-De La Cruz told the Tribune. “These bans are making it nearly impossible to get basic emergency healthcare. So, I’m filing this complaint because women like me deserve justice and accountability from those that hurt us. Texas state officials can’t keep ignoring us. We can’t let them.”
Advocates for reproductive rights have been warning that state abortion bans were causing confusion for physicians, who can be jailed or fined for performing an abortion deemed unnecessary by the state. Earlier this year, the Texas Supreme Court declined to clarify the state laws after a filing, Zurawski v. Texas, stated that 20 women were unable to receive medical care for their pregnancies despite experiencing severe complications.
“A physician who tells a patient, ‘Your life is threatened by a complication that has arisen during your pregnancy, and you may die, or there is a serious risk you will suffer substantial physical impairment unless an abortion is performed,’ and in the same breath states ‘but the law won’t allow me to provide an abortion in these circumstances’ is simply wrong in that legal assessment,” the court ruled.
But Monday's filing is evidence of that very thought process happening. After the Zurawski ruling, Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, warned that exceptions to the state abortion ban are an "empty promise."
The Center for Reproductive Rights has requested the complaints be investigated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, rather than a state agency, because of Texas state officials' "hostility" towards EMTALA.
