Texas' abortion ban continues to work according to Republican plans, leaving another woman dead after being denied life-saving care.
Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi was denied a D&C due to Texas' abortion ban. She had miscarried and was dangerously bleeding out, but doctors chose to give her a pill and sent her home, hoping that would help her pass the non-viable tissue. They didn't want to perform a D&C as there is a hefty prison term associated with it under Texas law. Three hours later, Ngumezi was dead.
Texas doctors told ProPublica the law has changed the way their colleagues see the procedure; some no longer consider it a first-line treatment, fearing legal repercussions or dissuaded by the extra legwork required to document the miscarriage and get hospital approval to carry out a D&C. This has occurred, ProPublica found, even in cases like Porsha's where there isn't a fetal heartbeat or the circumstances should fall under an exception in the law. Some doctors are transferring those patients to other hospitals, which delays their care, or they're defaulting to treatments that aren't the medical standard.
ProPublica
Previously:
• Texas sues to unmask women who get abortions out of state
