CNN
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A woman who is suing the state of Texas after being denied an abortion told lawmakers Wednesday that not receiving abortion care harmed her mental health and could prevent her from having children in the future.
Addressing her senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Amanda Zurawski said her “horrific” experience was a result of the policies they support. “I almost died on his watch,” she said.
“We’ve heard a lot today about mental trauma and the damaging negative effects on a person’s psychological well-being after an abortion, supposedly, and I’m curious why that’s not relevant to me as well,” Zurawski said at the US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the impact of the repeal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
“Because I was not allowed to have an abortion and the trauma, PTSD and depression that I have dealt with in the eight months since this happened to me is crippling,” she said. “On top of that, I’m still struggling to have kids.”
Zurawski previously told CNN that she was denied abortion care after she had pregnancy complications. At eighteen weeks pregnant, Zurawski’s water broke, putting her at high risk of a life-threatening infection. Zurawski’s baby, named Willow, would surely die. Willow still had a heartbeat, so the doctors said that under Texas law, they couldn’t terminate the pregnancy.
Zurawski told lawmakers Wednesday that she received an emergency abortion only after her condition worsened and she suffered septic shock, adding that she may have been one of the first affected patients in the state of Texas after Roe was annulled, eliminating the federal right to an abortion. abortion.
“I wanted to address my Senators Cruz and Cornyn, neither of whom are unfortunately in the room at this time, but I would like you to know that what happened to me, I think most people in this room would agree, it was horrible. . But it is a direct result of the policies they support,” Zurawski said. “I nearly died on his watch, and furthermore, as a result of what happened to me, I may have been robbed of the opportunity to have children in the future.”
Zurawski is one of five women sue the state of texas about its restrictive abortion laws, alleging that they experienced pain and suffering because they were denied abortion care when they faced emergency complications in their pregnancies. He the lawsuit was filed in March by the non-profit Center for Reproductive Rights.
Texas, which has arguably the most aggressive abortion restrictions in the country, has been the scene of several legal battles over abortion since before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last June.
The language in Texas abortion laws is “incredibly vague, leaving doctors grappling with what they can and can’t do, what medical care they can and can’t provide,” Zurawski said, chafing at the suggestion that her doctors they were at fault for misinterpreting the state’s abortion bans. “And if they make the wrong decision, they face up to 99 years in prison and/or lose their license.”
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the committee, asked Republican witness Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB/GYN in Texas and vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Anti-Abortion Institute, to weigh in on what happened to Zurawksi.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Skop told Zurawski.
“And I’m very sorry that your doctors misunderstood Texas law,” Skop said. “Each law allows an exclusion for a physician to use reasonable medical judgment in determining when to intervene in a medical emergency, which is generally defined as a threat to the life of the mother or permanent and irreversible damage to an organ or organ system. . .”
Skop said that even before the Supreme Court struck down Roe, doctors knew how to evaluate medical emergencies in which abortions should be offered, and that the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has put in place guidance instructing providers to offer abortions or deliveries for patients in the Zurawski situation. , recognizing that the risk of infection is high, which can develop into life-threatening sepsis.
“Either one should have been offered and could have been offered to Amanda,” Skop said.
Cornyn, a Texas Republican serving on the committee, later suggested that a medical malpractice lawsuit against her doctors is the legal route Zurawski should consider.
Later in the hearing, Zurawski said he wanted to respond to Skop’s and Cornyn’s comments.
“Dr. Skop is not my doctor. She has never been my doctor. She has never treated me. She has not seen my medical records,” Zurawski said.
“Frankly, my doctor and my team of health professionals that I saw over the course of three days, while repeatedly denying me access to medical care, made the decision not to perform an abortion because that is what they felt they had to do. do. do under Texas law,” Zurawski said. “And that will continue to happen and it will continue to happen, and it is not the result of a misinterpretation. It is the result of confusion, and the confusion is due to the way the law is written.”
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