Texas Abortion Ban Kills Teen Mom Who Was Suffering Miscarriage - Doctors Couldn't Do Anything

A Texas teen suffered a miscarriage last year, which was already a tragedy. But thanks to her state’s abortion ban, it meant the end of her life as well.

Nevaeh Crain was excited to be a mom. One of the 18-year-old’s final Facebook posts was her showing off a photo of her ultrasound. But something went wrong, as it all too often does.

On October 28 of last year, she woke up with a headache, which gave way to a fever, nausea, stomach pain, and vomiting. Nevaeh was six months pregnant. It was the day of her baby shower. But as much as she tried to celebrate, everyone could see this wasn’t morning sickness. Something was really wrong. Nevaeh’s boyfriend drove her to the hospital. After hours in the waiting room, she was diagnosed with strep throat and given antibiotics. Despite her abdominal discomfort, her pregnancy was not evaluated.

That night she woke her mother — the stomach pains were severe now. So her mom, Candace Fails, drove her to the hospital again, a different one this time. This time an OB-GYN examined her. Along with strep, she had a urinary tract infection. She had a 102.8 fever and signs of sepsis. And yet… they released her after two hours of IV fluids and more antibiotics. She had to be taken home using a wheelchair because she was too weak to walk.

The next morning she was bleeding heavily. She was having a miscarriage. She went right back to the hospital. The OB-GYN couldn’t find her baby’s heartbeat, indicating the pregnancy was no longer viable. However, they couldn’t prove it. That would take more testing. And based on Texas’ abortion ban, until the fetus is legally proven to already be dead by natural causes, doctors can’t remove it. San Antonio OB-GYN Tony Ogburn explained to ProPublica over the weekend:

“Pretty consistently, people say, ‘Until we can be absolutely certain this isn’t a normal pregnancy, we can’t do anything, because it could be alleged that we were doing an abortion.'”

So Nevaeh sat there, bleeding profusely, with her mother shouting at doctors and nurses to “do something”! But they were bound by law not to.

Over the course of two and a half hours, they did two ultrasounds, the second of which finally was able to “confirm fetal demise.” An “unplanned dilation and curettage” was ordered. A D&C is a necessary procedure which safely removes the fetal tissue, which can be deadly to the mother if left inside. It’s technically still considered an abortion and illegal under many states’ laws — if doctors don’t first PROVE the fetus is already dead. After the time it took to do all the extra testing, Nevaeh could no longer even sign a consent form. Her mother had to sign a release.

But it turned out it was too late to even perform the D&C. Doctors realized Nevaeh had developed a sepsis complication called disseminated intravascular coagulation. She was bleeding internally. Candace says black blood was oozing out of her daughter’s nose and mouth. Terrifying.

Nevaeh died within hours.

In their new investigation of the case, ProPublica spoke with nine doctors, “including researchers at prestigious universities, OB-GYNs who regularly handle miscarriages, and experts in emergency medicine and maternal health.” Some thought the first ER should have done more. Every one agreed the second hospital should not have sent her home. And all agreed the two ultrasounds during the final hospital trip wasted valuable time that might have saved her life. Some even believed it might have been possible to save both Nevaeh AND the baby if action had been taken earlier. But everyone is too scared of going to prison — they’ve been intimidated into a hands-off approach by the strict laws. More of a “First, do no hard-to-justify-in-a-court-of-law actions” mindset.

Dr. Dara Kass, New York ER doctor and former regional director at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the outlet:

“This is how these restrictions kill women. It is never just one decision, it’s never just one doctor, it’s never just one nurse.”

Every one, rather than prioritizing helping this young girl and her child, took the safer route. And every time it was a mistake.

Candace can’t even find a lawyer to take her case. She’d have to prove “willful and wanton negligence” by the hospital staff. And right now, this is more of a lawful and prudent negligence. It’s become normal. You can read more about Nevaeh’s story HERE.

You can do something about it at your local polling place tomorrow.

"I'm your Republican Congressman. I won the last election, so it's *my* decision. pic.twitter.com/qmepGpgk5Z

— ⚖️Powerful Mel Ankoly #ForThePeople (@Mel_Ankoly) November 2, 2024