Back at the Senate hearings...
One of the Democrats’ witnesses, Amanda Zurawski, told senators how during her second trimester, her water prematurely broke, meaning that there was no way that her daughter, named Willow, would survive, and if she did not get access to an abortion she could die due to septic shock.
Because of Texas’ law, her doctors could only perform an abortion if there was no fetal heartbeat or unless her life was in danger.
Septic shock, known as blood poisoning, can kill a person within hours. Zurawski said the closest medical center that could have performed an abortion was eight hours away, and she and her husband didn’t want to risk her going into septic shock in a car ride or in an airplane.
“I cannot adequately put into words the trauma and despair that comes with waiting to either lose your own life, your child’s, or both,” she said. “Would Willow’s heart stop, or would I deteriorate to the brink of death?”
She said three days later she went into septic shock. Zurawski said she was briefly stable and gave birth to her daughter, who was stillborn. She then spent several days in the ICU.
Fearing the draconian laws there that could lead to her doctors being prosecuted for murder, the doctors refused to help her and she went septic and almost died.
She may not be able to give birth again.
"We've heard a lot today about the mental trauma and the negative harmful effects on a person's psychological well-being after they have an abortion, supposedly, and I'm curious why that's not relevant for me as well," Zurawski said.
"Because I wasn't permitted to have an abortion and the trauma and the PTSD and the depression that I have dealt with in the eight months since this happened to me is paralyzing," she added. "On top of that, I am still struggling to have children."
She spoke at a Senate hearing yesterday. Neither Senators Cruz or Cornyn attended the hearing although they were in Washington. Cornyn says she has a good medical malpractice case, showing no compassion whatsoever to her physical and emotional trauma. The little weasel Cruz said nothing at all.
It is no wonder that obstetricians and maternal health professionals are leaving the red states in droves. Like this woman in Idaho.
Pamela Parker, an OB/GYN who worked for years in Texas along the Rio Grande, said she left the state following the enactment of its six-week abortion ban because she could no longer work in such a restrictive climate.
“As I seek jobs, I keep the Guttmacher map on my desktop,” Parker said, referring to the reproductive rights research organization that tracks state restrictions on abortion. “I get a lot of requests for temporary or permanent jobs from states with bans, and I let them know why I would not ever practice in their state.”
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