A Louisiana woman who suffered a miscarriage at 16 weeks of pregnancy was forced to endure hours of painful and traumatizing labor and delivery due to the state’s abortion ban according to a sworn affidavit from her doctor.
Dr. Valerie Williams was prevented from performing a simple dilation and evacuation (D&E) to remove a non-viable fetus from the patient due to the state’s abortion ban. The same procedure is also used to abort a live fetus.
“A D&E would have lasted approximately 15 minutes,” Williams wrote. “After our consultation, the patient expressed that this was her preferred option, since she was already traumatized from her experience and felt that an induction, which would require labor and delivery of the fetus, would be too much for her.”
But the hospital lawyer advised against the D&E due the abortion trigger ban that went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Going back into that hospital room and telling the patient that she would have to be induced and push out that fetus was one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had,” Williams wrote.
Instead of performing the D&E, Williams had to watch while her patient “was forced to go through a painful, hours-long labor to deliver a nonviable fetus, despite her wishes and best medical advice.”
Her patient took additional hours to deliver the placenta and began hemorrhaging. She lost nearly a liter of blood before doctors could stop the bleeding.
“She was screaming—not from pain, but from the emotional trauma she was experiencing,” Williams said. “There is absolutely no medical basis for my patient, or any other patient in this state, to experience anything like this. This was the first time in my 15-year career that I could not give a patient the care they needed. This is a travesty.”
A complete ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest went into effect in Louisiana after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month. There is however an exception for “medically futile” pregnancies and if there is substantial risk of death or impairment to the mother.
But, the law does not provide necessary information about what is considered to be a “medically futile” pregnancy. A doctor who provides an abortion not allowed under the law can face up to 15 years in prison.
Williams’ affidavit is part of a lawsuit against the state challenging the new abortion law. Currently, a temporary restraining order is in place that permits abortion access while the issue is being litigated. On Tuesday, Judge Donald Johnson ordered the TRO remain in place until July 29, Insider reports.
