Neveah Crain would have turned 20 this yr. As an alternative, in 2023, the pregnant Texas teenager lost her life after making three urgent visits to numerous emergency rooms.
Crain’s tragic case underscores the impact of the growing anti-abortion movement, which is severely restricting access to essential reproductive healthcare for a lot of Americans. This issue will not be isolated to Texas; it extends to states like Georgia, where similar situations have arisen, including the case of Amber Thurman.
Here’s all the things you might want to learn about Crain’s devastating, preventable death, Texas’s abortion laws, and others who’ve been affected.
What Happened to Neveah Crain?
In October 2023, Crain visited two different emergency rooms inside a 12-hour period, every time returning home feeling worse. During her first visit, she was only diagnosed with strep throat, and the hospital didn’t address her severe abdominal cramps, as reported by ProPublica.
BREAKING: Texas’s abortion laws claim one other life. Nevaeh Crain, 18, died after doctors repeatedly denied her critical care during a miscarriage, fearing legal repercussions.
Whilst her organs failed, they waited for “fetal demise” confirmation before stepping in.
That is… pic.twitter.com/8Ztjkidz91
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) November 1, 2024
Medical records show that Crain tested positive for sepsis on her second visit. Despite this alarming diagnosis, doctors discharged her after confirming that her six-month-old fetus still had a heartbeat.
On her third trip to the hospital, Crain was finally admitted to intensive care after an obstetrician insisted on conducting two ultrasounds to substantiate the fetal demise, based on ProPublica. Tragically, she died just hours later from organ failure, with a nurse noting that her lips had turned “blue and dusky.”
What Are Texas’s Current Abortion Laws?
As of now, Texas has a number of the strictest abortion laws in america. Listed here are the important thing points:
- Total Ban on Abortions: Most abortions are banned after about six weeks of pregnancy, which is usually before many individuals even know they’re pregnant.
- Trigger Law: Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a trigger law took effect, prohibiting nearly all abortions with very limited exceptions, equivalent to when the mother’s life is in danger.
- No Exceptions for Rape or Incest: The law doesn’t allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest.
- Legal Consequences: Healthcare providers who perform illegal abortions may face severe penalties, including criminal charges and civil lawsuits.
- Public and Private Enforcement: The law allows private residents to sue anyone who performs or aids in an abortion, making a system of enforcement that relies on private lawsuits.
- Counseling and Waiting Periods: Texas law requires patients to receive counseling and a 24-hour waiting period before undergoing an abortion.
Who Else Has Died Attributable to Texas’s Abortion Ban?
To date, Josseli Barnica is the one other reported woman in Texas who died consequently of the state’s abortion ban.
On September 3, 2021, Barnica, already a mother to at least one daughter, was 17 weeks pregnant and experiencing a “miscarriage in progress,” as noted in her hospital records. Attributable to the restrictive laws, she had to attend until “there was no heartbeat,” which occurred nearly 40 hours later. She died three days later from an infection.
Josseli Barnica died of a miscarriage in Greg Abbott’s Texas, because doctors thought it could be a criminal offense to treat her.
Take into consideration that.
🚨This needs to be a HUGE story.pic.twitter.com/uTqCfWcGv5— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) October 31, 2024
Medical examiners who reviewed Barnica’s hospital and autopsy records at ProPublica‘s request deemed her death “preventable,” describing her case as “horrific,” “astounding,” and “egregious.”
Each Crain and Barnica intended to hold their pregnancies to term, hoping to bring their children home safely. Nevertheless, complications and increasingly strict abortion laws delayed essential healthcare, ultimately costing each women and their children their lives.
