Survivors of sexual assault choose to sterilize so that they will not be forced to give birth to a baby rapist if she is attacked again. Obstetricians delay the induction of miscarriage until a woman with severe pregnancy complications appears to be “sufficiently ill.” Patients with lupus can cause miscarriage and should stop taking medications that control their illness.
Abortion restrictions and Supreme Court decisions in many states Overturn the Roe v. Wade case have Serious impact Not only in assisted reproductive technology, but also in other areas of medicine.
“This is a terrifying and difficult time for both doctors and patients, and there are unprecedented new concerns about data privacy, access to contraception, and even when to start life-saving care,” the United States said. Dr. Jack Lesneck, President of the Medical Association, said. ..
Even in the case of emergency care, doctors may refuse immediate treatment. Last week, the Ohio abortion clinic received a call from two women who had an ectopic pregnancy. If the embryos grow outside the womb and cannot be saved, doctors said they would not treat them. Ectopic pregnancies are often life-threatening emergencies, and abortion clinics have not been established to treat them.
Dr. Catherine Romanos, who works at the Dayton Clinic, is just one example of “the horrifying downstream consequences of criminalizing abortion care.”
Medical dilemma
Dr. Jessian Munoz, an obstetrician and gynecologist in San Antonio, Texas, who treats high-risk pregnancies, said the medical decision was previously clear.
“It was as if my mom’s life was at stake. We have to evacuate the womb by any means,” he said. “Whether it’s surgical or medical, it’s a cure.”
Now, he said, doctors whose patients have pregnancy complications are having a hard time determining if a woman is “sufficiently ill” to justify an abortion.
With the collapse of the Roe v. Wade case, “the art of medicine has been lost and in fact replaced by horror,” Munoz said.
Mr. Munos said he faced terrible predicament with a recent patient who started a miscarriage and developed a dangerous uterine infection. Immediate miscarriage (the usual standard of care) was illegal under Texas law because the fetus still had signs of heartbeat.
“We were physically watching her get sick more and more,” he said, until the fetal heartbeat stopped the next day. The patient developed complications, needed surgery, lost a few liters of blood, and had to wear a respiratory system “because he was basically 24 hours late.”
In a study published this month in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, doctors from two Texas hospitals cited 28 cases of women under 23 weeks gestation who were treated for dangerous pregnancies. Doctors said all women recommended delaying the abortion by 9 days because fetal heart activity was detected. Nearly 60% of them developed serious complications — nearly twice the number of complications experienced by patients in other states who had an immediate abortion. Of the eight births in Texas, seven died within hours. The eighth, born at week 24, suffered from serious complications such as cerebral hemorrhage, heart defects, lung disease, and bowel and liver problems.
Before it overturned the Roe v. Wade case, the Supreme Court never allowed the state to ban abortion before the time when the fetus could survive outside the womb (approximately 24 weeks).
Chicago diversity executive Sina Gray survived a disastrous end-of-pregnancy experience last year when doctors discovered that she had an embryo in her fallopian tubes and an eight-week-old fetus in her uterus. They told her that she needed to remove the embryo along with her affected fallopian tubes and abort the other fetuses to save her life.
The decision to continue treatment was hers — abortion is still legal in Illinois.In fact, the state Provides greater access to abortion More than most others, there is a flood of patients seeking abortion following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Mr Gray said he had heard that similar treatments were denied or postponed in other states and was afraid that other patients would face the same fate due to a High Court ruling.
“During menstruation, you shouldn’t make these choices for women,” she said.
Her story has a happier ending. Gray became pregnant again and she gave birth to a healthy identical twin girl on July 8.
Sterilization choice
Julie Annitch, a survivor of sexual assault in Austin, Texas and a councilor of a community college, is one of many women in the state with restricted abortion legislation taking drastic steps.
Niche says he chose sterilization at the age of 36 rather than risking getting pregnant with another rape criminal.
To avoid that, she said, “I tore my organs.”
“I saw the text on the wall,” Nitch said last year after Texas enacted a law banning most abortions six weeks later, even in the case of rape and incest. He said he had an operation because he felt he was overturned. She in February she got rid of her Faropian tube.
“It’s sad to think that I can’t have a child, but it’s better than being forced to have a child,” said the niche.
Dr. Tyler Handcock, an Austin gynecologist, said his clinic has heard from hundreds of patients seeking sterility since the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 24. Many people choose this route because they fear that long-acting contraceptives and other contraceptives may also be targeted.
His clinic scheduled a group counseling session on July 9 to deal with the surge, and all 20 patients who appeared to hear about the risks and effects of fallopian tube removal were scheduled to undergo surgery. ..
Some doctors are hesitant to perform surgery on young women who have many years of reproduction and are afraid to change their minds later. Handcock said he heard from a 28-year-old woman who said six OB-GYNs refused to sterilize her.
Handcock said the choice was patient.
“I will protect patients and their rights as much as possible,” he said.
Target drug
Becky Schwartz in Tysons Corner, Virginia, finds himself unexpectedly involved in an abortion dispute, even though he has no plans to become pregnant.
27-year-old wolf is an autoimmune disease in which the body can attack the tissues around joints and organs, causing inflammation and often debilitating symptoms. In the case of Schwartz, these include pain in bones and joints, and difficulty standing for long periods of time.
She recently received a notification from her doctor that she should stop taking medications to relieve her symptoms. At least while considering methotrexate policy in the light of the Supreme Court’s ruling. This is because the drug can cause miscarriage and, in theory, could be used in an attempt to induce an abortion.
“I’m angry because I have to be essentially a baby sat by some policy, rather than being trusted about how I treat my body,” she said.
Both the Arthritis Foundation and the American College of Rheumatology have expressed concern about patients’ access to drugs. Stephen Schultz of the Arthritis Foundation said the group is working to determine how widespread the problem is.Patients with medication problems can contact the group HelplineHe said.
Confusing law
Many abortion methods are ambiguous Varies by state.. It can be confusing to doctors.
“We asked some legislators,’How are healthcare providers supposed to interpret the law?'”, Based in Oklahoma, a state that recently banned almost all abortions. Dr. Dana Stone puts on said.
“They say,’They will understand it,'” she said.
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Associated Press medical writers Carla K. Johnson and Laura Ungar contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health Sciences is supported by the Science Education Department of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.