Women in Texas who are challenging the state’s abortion ban recounted their harrowing personal stories Wednesday, leaving members of both sides of the case in tears.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is suing Texas on behalf of two doctors and 13 women whose pregnancies were either incompatible with life, or who suffered life-threatening complications. They’re asking the state to temporarily suspend the abortion ban for people with pregnancy complications, according to areport in NPR, as the current medical exemptions to the law are unclear.
Texas currently has aban on abortionthat restricts all procedures after 6 weeks of pregnancy — long after most women even know they’re pregnant.
One of the women, Amanda Zurawski, addresses the press.SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty
In an Austin courtroom on Wednesday, one plaintiff, Samantha Casiano, became physically ill on the stand as she recounted her few hours with newborn daughter Halo, who was born withanencephaly in March.
Anencephaly is a “fatal condition” where portions of the brain, scalp and skull do not develop in utero, according to theCleveland Clinic,
The courtroom heard testimony from another woman, Amanda Zurawski, who was told she had an incompetent cervix, making a miscarriage inevitable. But she was forced to wait until she was sick enough for doctors to intervene.
Zurawski was denied treatment until she developed sepsis — a potentially fatal condition, according to theMayo Clinic, that can damage internal organs — which sent her to the ICU.
A rally in Austin protesting the state’s ban on abortion.SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty
She testified that due to damage to her fallopian tubes and uterus, Zurawski will need to undergo IVF to get pregnant again, according toCBS News.
Still another plaintiff, Ashley Brandt, was pregnant with twins when she discovered she could lose both babies due to a fatal condition one of the twins developed.
She left the state for the procedure, but upon returning to Texas, she suffered some complications and feared seeking medical care.
“I don’t feel safe to have children in Texas anymore,” Brandt testified according toCBS News.“I knew it was very clear my health didn’t matter, but my daughter’s health didn’t really matter [either].”
The office of Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton — who is currently facing animpeachment trialover allegations of abusing his office — is asking for the case, which continues Thursday, to be dismissed.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
source: people.com
