Did the Texas ban on abortion lead to the death of a central Texas woman?
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, Texas almost immediately implemented previously passed trigger laws to put in place an abortion ban in most cases.
But even before the overturning of Roe with the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Texas had one of the nation’s toughest abortion laws, known as SB8 or the Fetal Heartbeat Law, which applies after a fetal “heartbeat” is detected, which can occur as early as six weeks of pregnancy.
But in addition to that, SB8 prohibited anyone from assisting someone obtaining an abortion, which was interpreted to include doctors informing their patients about an abortion to save the life of a mother.
All these factors were part of the tragic story of a Luling Texas woman who died two weeks after the fall of Roe.
An investigation by the New Yorker magazine examines the facts surrounding the troubled pregnancy and finds that a therapeutic abortion could have saved her life.
The only exceptions to the abortion ban in Texas are when it is necessary to save the life of the mother or prevent "substantial impairment of major bodily function." These exceptions are narrowly defined and subject to interpretation by medical professionals. But the public is learning through failed attempts by women to receive a medically necessary abortion that the procedure is practically impossible to legally obtain in Texas.
The New Yorker looks at the complicated circumstances that led to the pregnant woman’s death. And how experts say an abortion could have saved her life, but she wasn’t given that choice.
Guest:
Stephania Taladrid is a New Yorker contributing writer. She was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2023 for her reporting on the fall of Roe v. Wade. Her latest article is “Did an Abortion Ban Cost a Young Texas Woman Her Life?”
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This interview will air on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
