A Texas woman who was denied an abortion after developing complications during her pregnancy slammed the state’s Republican senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn saying she “nearly died on their watch.”
Amanda Zurawski, one of five women suing the state of Texas for denying them abortions after medical complications arose in their pregnancies, spoke about her experience at a Senate Judiciary hearing on Wednesday.
She was diagnosed with an “incompetent cervix” during her pregnancy and was told that her baby would not survive. But, since the fetus had a heartbeat doctors did not provide an abortion because the procedure is banned in Texas after a heartbeat is detected.
Doctors could face stiff penalties for performing an abortion including prison sentences of up to 99 years, $100,000 fines and the loss of their medical license. As a result, physicians are reluctant to perform the procedure even in cases where the law appears to allow it.
Zurawski eventually became sceptic and at that point the hospital induced labor. She delivered her baby that eventually died.
Both Cruz and Cornyn sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee but neither were present in the room on Wednesday during Zurawski’s testimony. She still directed her comments at them.
“I wanted to address my senators, Cruz and Cornyn, neither of whom, regrettably, are in the room right now. I would like for them to know that what happened to me… it’s a direct result of the policies that they support,” Zurawski said. “I nearly died on their watch… as a result of what happened to me, I may have been robbed of the opportunity to have children in the future.”
Zurawski said she considered herself “lucky” because she has a supportive partner and a job that was understanding and “allowed me to grieve for three days as I waited to almost die.”
“What about all of the women that don’t have the same opportunities? That don’t have access to healthcare, that don’t have health insurance, that don’t have a partner. What about them?” Zurawski asked.
