One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound. The baby later died.
The cases raise alarms about the state of emergency pregnancy care in the U.S., especially in states that enacted strict abortion laws and sparked confusion around the treatment doctors can provide.
“It is shocking, it’s absolutely shocking,” said Amelia Huntsberger, an OB/GYN in Oregon. “It is appalling that someone would show up to an emergency room and not receive care – this is inconceivable.”
It’s happened despite federal mandates that the women be treated.
“It is appalling that someone would show up to an emergency room and not receive care – this is inconceivable.”
You keep using that word… I do not think it means what you think it means. This was all predicted as potential outcomes from overturning Roe. It’s not even the first time, because this is what things were like before Roe. You know that quote? “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I used to think it was kind of cliché, but it seems to be more and more relevant all the time these days.
Corollary: Those preventing history from being taught intend to repeat it.
This is an OB/GYN in a different state reviewing the cases at a medical level. You can be 100% sure she knows why they are occurring :
For Huntsberger, the OB-GYN, EMTALA was one of the few ways she felt protected to treat pregnant patients in Idaho, despite the state’s abortion ban. She left Idaho last year to practice in Oregon because of the ban.
What she is saying that it is absolutely shocking that these woman, in deep medical need, were turned away because of cruel and pandering state laws.
Shes making it clear that medically, these hospitals broke their hippocratic oath in order to comply with these heartless state laws while also violating federal law that requires them to provide medical care to those in need.
Oh, I know all that. I still think “inconceivable” is the wrong choice of word. “Monstrous” is good. “Horrifying” works. Even “Heartbreaking”, though that’s maybe a little soft. Unfortunately, it’s all too conceivable.
No, it’s not fucking shocking. It’s an extremely predictable consequence of religious zealotry legislating their sick version of morality.
you didn’t hear it from me, but, so far, no has said that you can’t miscarriage in public.
So, for the two people that would ever want to do that. Have at it.
See? Now that abortion is illegal, if you and your fetus die, that’s the way God intended it to be!
Every life is precious and abortion is murder… unless God thinks otherwise, then abort that little fucker, God, and kill the lady for good measure!
It won’t bring their babies back, but these sure sound like some slam dunk lawsuits
Federal law requires emergency rooms to treat or stabilize patients who are in active labor and provide a medical transfer to another hospital if they don’t have the staff or resources to treat them. Medical facilities must comply with the law if they accept Medicare funding. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday that could weaken those protections.
Let’s see how long that lasts.
Plus, the effect and point of many of these laws is to create massive liability to make pregnant patients untouchables. Running an OBGYN dept is becoming an unacceptable legal risk.
All is working as intended to harm women.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday that could weaken those protections.
And that’s the crux of this whole fucking issue. The orange asshole got elected and weaseled in his judges to tip the balance of the highest court in America.
Just think what else he’ll do if he’s elected again.
So abortion being legal actually saves lives ? You don’t say !
I swear, the fact they call themselves “pro-life” while sowing death and misery is completely unacceptable. It’s like them calling themselves “conservative” while destroying nature and society…
Or calling themselves “Christian” while spreading more hate than any other group on earth.
Pacifism is a core value for protestant Christians, as it was preached by Jesus himself. Which goes to show you how many people just use their on-paper religion as an excuse for whatever bullshit.
Why the hell are security guards and front desk staff making medical decisions? I’m sure their jobs aren’t easy, but this isn’t their job.
Solution: stop fucking conservatives
Conservatives often breed like cockroaches. They take pride in how many children they produce, impoverished or not. And too often, neglecting their children is just seen as a way to “toughen 'em up”.
Source: Am from the conservative south.
Lysistrata’s solution only works if everyone agrees. Sadly, there are a lot of conservative women.
I don’t quite understand. How did banning abortions lead to doctors being scared of helping people give birth?
They are threatened to be held responsible and imprisoned for helping a woman abort
In my country medical professionals that help induce an abortion can be imprisoned for 4-10 years. Nonetheless, the thing described in the article doesn’t happen. It must be something else.
And in your country I presume the law applies to the entire country, doesn’t vary by state, and wasn’t put into effect in very recent history.
After 10 or 20 years there will be enough legal precedent in each state that doctors and hospitals can formulate policies which will probably keep them safe from prosecution. Right now, they don’t have that capability, because everything is so new. And the only way to find out whether their actions are legal is to try them and see if they get charged and see what the courts say.
It’s important to keep in mind that the states with strict laws against abortion are run by Republicans who really don’t care about the doctors or the women. It’s not like the laws are perfectly crafted to guarantee that patients receive the best possible medical care.
I’m assuming it because the legal liabilities are unknowns at this point and nobody wants to take the plunge to find out. The US “Justice” system is pretty fucked to say the least.
Yeah that makes sense.
Charge the hospital administration with Gross Negligence, Manslaughter and any other charges that will apply and correct this trend. Healthcare isn’t a privilege, it’s a basic human right and access to it should not be denied
The problem is, they’re already in a position where they can get charged if they do treat these women, and end up having to do something the anti-abortion assholes don’t approve of.
Charging them for not treating the women puts them in a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” situation where the only logical course of action is to shut down the hospital and leave the state.
And complete hospital closure is the only thing that will change some people’s minds.
Isn’t this a question of, damned if you do; damned if you don’t? Provide care and you go to jail. Don’t provide care and the woman dies. Medical professionals are not there to sacrifice themselves. If you make it impossible for them to provide care, they will just not do that. I know I would look for another job if that was me.
Those charges sure are an improvement over murder in the event the actions of you or your staff could be interpreted as an abortion.
I have no love for hospital administration or their treatment of employees and patients, but it’s an disturbing position with few good answers.
