A 21-year-old mom from Arizona shared the real-life consequence of overturning the Roe v. Wade decision when her pregnancy was ruled as "incompatible with life" after a 21-week anatomy scan.
The young mom said that she is having constant seizures inside her. As a mom, she thinks her baby is suffering and wants to treat her daughter's birth and death with love. When learning about her baby's condition, her OB-GYN planned to induce her so she could deliver. But when the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision last month, she no longer had that option.
Chloe, not her real name to protect her privacy, posted her story on social media, and many people were surprised that she could not get her child induced. She said she did not know that the decision had consequences for people similar to her situation and wanted people to understand it.
Incompatible with life pregnancy
Chloe and her fiancé were parents to an 11-month-old baby when she learned she was pregnant again. She was happy and anxious as her daughter was just five months old. Despite the short gap among her kids, she was excited to have another baby as she loves being a mom.
However, when she had her anatomy scan at 21 weeks, the doctors told her that there were "red flags." Her OB-GYN referred her to a specialist. After two weeks, she learned that her baby was not coping well and was "incompatible with life." Doctors told her that the baby was not going to make it.
Her OB-GYN gave her options: get out of the state to get an abortion, have her baby induced, or stay pregnant until the baby passes away inside of her or is in full-term. Around the time, she said her fetus had seizure-like movements that Chloe could feel.
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She said she wanted the best for her child. She wanted the more intimate moment of giving birth and having her pass away naturally. She wanted to end her baby's suffering peacefully, spend some moments with her, and be able to love her.
In Arizona, as per AZCentral, legal experts said that the old abortion law, created in Arizona's territorial days, is a strict ban on providing or helping to provide an abortion except to save a mother's life. This year, Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy except if necessary to protect the mother's life.
She was supposed to be due for induction in June, but her OB-GYN said he needed the hospital board's approval for her procedure. In cases of nonviable pregnancy like hers, the doctor needs to stop the fetal heart and then induce the delivery of the fetus. When her surgery was finally scheduled, the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. The doctor called her to say they couldn't induce her, and her only option was to stay pregnant.
Limited options
Meanwhile, Chloe is left with a few options. As she is 26 weeks pregnant, she said she could not deliver her baby with her OB-GYN. Knowing that her baby may not survive is difficult for the couple. As another option, Chloe will have to travel to another state to undergo an abortion, an operation that would cost her $20,000. She created a GoFundMe page so she can cover the cost, Today reports.
