Fri Nov 01 18:40:00 UTC 2024: ## Texas Teen Dies After Multiple ER Visits Highlight Abortion Ban’s Impact
**AUSTIN, TEXAS** – An 18-year-old pregnant Texas teenager, Neveah Crain, died in October 2023 after multiple visits to emergency rooms, highlighting the dangerous consequences of the state’s strict abortion ban. Crain’s death follows a similar tragedy in 2021, where another Texan woman, Josseli Barnica, died after a miscarriage.
Crain initially sought care for severe abdominal cramps, but was misdiagnosed with strep throat on her first visit. Despite worsening symptoms and a subsequent positive test for sepsis, she was discharged after doctors confirmed a fetal heartbeat. On her third visit, Crain was finally moved to intensive care, but only after an obstetrician insisted on two ultrasounds to “confirm fetal demise”. Hours later, she died from organ failure.
These incidents highlight the chilling effect of the Texas abortion ban, which threatens medical professionals with prison time for interventions that end a fetal heartbeat, regardless of the pregnancy’s viability or the mother’s well-being. Experts argue that the fear of legal repercussions is causing healthcare providers to hesitate or even refuse to treat pregnant women, delaying crucial interventions and leading to devastating outcomes.
“Pregnant women have become essentially untouchables,” said Sara Rosenbaum, a health law and policy professor emerita at George Washington University. The lack of clarity surrounding the law has resulted in pregnant women being passed between hospitals, wasting precious time and endangering their lives.
Crain’s tragic death serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the subsequent erosion of abortion rights nationwide. The fear and uncertainty surrounding the law are leaving women in desperate need of healthcare vulnerable, and it remains unclear what steps will be taken to address this growing crisis.
First Piper 