A Texas woman was forced to carry her dead fetus in her uterus for 2 weeks because doctors were nervous to perform procedures for miscarriages due to strict new anti-abortion laws in the state.
Marlena Stell told CNN that she and her husband were excited late last summer when she became pregnant with their second child after months of trying. An ultrasound at around 7 weeks showed that everything with the fetus was normal.
At an ultrasound two weeks later, her doctor told her “there is no heartbeat” and that the pregnancy is no longer viable. She asked her doctor for a dilation and curettage procedure (D&C) to remove the dead fetus but her doctor refused because the same procedure is also used to abort a live fetus.
Her doctor told her that due to the new law, she would have to schedule another ultrasound to verify that her pregnancy was not viable before they could proceed with the procedure.
“The pain would get so severe it would be hard to walk,” Stell told CNN.
She ultimately got a second ultrasound to confirm the death of the fetus. “Someone shoves a wand in my sensitive area and tells me, ‘Hey, you lost your baby’ again. I shouldn’t have to go through that twice,” Stell explained in a YouTube video.
She ended up having to get a third ultrasound because her obstetrician would still not perform the procedure after two previous ultrasounds.
“It’s gut-wrenching, cause you already know what you’re going to see. It’s just like, seeing it twice, being told that you’re not going to be a mom,” she told CNN. “Just emotionally carrying it around and just knowing that there’s nothing you could do. It just feels like I can’t grieve or move past it because I’m just walking around carrying it.”
She was finally able to find a doctor to perform the D&C after two weeks.
In Texas, doctors who perform an abortion procedure can face legal implications and private citizens are incentivized to bring such cases to the courts. Even if the doctor is able to prove that the fetus died in the uterus they are responsible for their own legal fees, CNN noted.
“I’m frustrated, I’m angry and I feel like the women here deserve better than that,” Stell said on her YouTube channel. “It doesn’t matter what side of the fence that you want to sit on, laws like this affect all women regardless of what situation you’re in and it’s not right.”
She is afraid to get pregnant in Texas again and be forced to go through the same ordeal if she suffers another miscarriage. Stell told CNN she is worried about developing an infection or possibly dying and leaving her daughter without a mother. She is planning to move out of the state and try again.
