During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris argued that pro-life state laws cause pregnant women to be denied needed healthcare during medical emergencies. This is a common misrepresentation of abortion laws such as the one in my home state of Texas, which has been falsely blamed for several tragic cases of women suffering pregnancy complications.
Two recent high-profile examples are those of Kyleigh Thurman and Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz, who both experienced ectopic pregnancies, a potentially life-threatening condition in which an embryo implants outside the uterus.
Without treatment, the condition can lead to the woman’s death. Available treatments include methotrexate (an injection) and surgery to remove the nonviable pregnancy. There are risks to methotrexate, and even in the ideal circumstances, its use may still have to be followed by surgery.
Both women have filed federal lawsuits against their hospitals saying they were denied early use of methotrexate due to current Texas law, leading to surgical treatment that included removal of a fallopian tube. They maintain that their emotional trauma and potential decrease in fertility could have been avoided were the Texas law not in place.
As an obstetrician-gynecologist, I find these stories heartbreaking. Although I have not been privileged with reading their medical records, I have participated in treating numerous patients in Texas with the horrible diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, both before and after passage of our current law. I sympathize with the deep emotional and physical impact of this diagnosis on my patients.
However, equally heartbreaking is the unfortunate false narrative surrounding these two stories, that the Texas abortion law prevented physicians from treating their pregnancy complications promptly.
In fact, the Texas law explicitly excludes the treatment of ectopic pregnancy from its definition of abortion, stating that “an act is not an abortion if it is intended to…remove an ectopic pregnancy.” The Texas Medical Board has also echoed this by listing ectopic pregnancy as an exclusion. In addition, a recent Texas Supreme Court decision further reinforces the fact that physicians are not legally restricted from providing lifesaving care to pregnant women facing complications.
The claim that Texas law incentivizes physicians to delay treatments so they can be certain of an ectopic pregnancy diagnosis is fraught with problems. The premise of this argument is that it is reasonable to act before a physician is certain of the diagnosis in the first place. If an OB/GYN were to practice in this manner, he or she might terminate normal, healthy pregnancies without the mother’s consent. I reject the premise that such an approach was ever necessary or justifiable before the current law was enacted. In my experience, I have not had to alter my approach in treating ectopic pregnancies following the enactment of our state law.
I believe that unity and polite dialogue are the best approaches in dealing with the Texas law. It would be extremely useful for me and my OB/GYN colleagues to have pertinent guidelines from organizations such as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology on how to practice excellent and lawful care in our state. Instead, this organization has only offered political rhetoric, such as in this recent news bulletin, asserting that Texas law causes “uncertainty” for hospitals and leads to “hampering care” for women with ectopic pregnancies.
Rather than focus on inaccurate narratives, it is my opinion as a board-certified OB/GYN that our patients should be empowered with accurate information about the compassionate and life-saving care they are due under the law as it currently stands. Texas law demands that we practice excellent care for both patients — the fetus and mother — without the use of induced abortions. Inaccurate portrayals such as those detailed above lead to fear and distrust between providers and patients.
It is time that put politics aside and prioritize women and their well-being.
Jayaprabhu Sudheer, MD, is a board-certified OB-GYN based in Texarkana, Texas.