Texas man details wife's devastating miscarriage amid state's strict abortion laws

essentialsaltes said:

Texas radio host Ryan Hamilton's world was shattered last month when his wife told him she was suffering a miscarriage at nearly 13 weeks pregnant and the fetus no longer had a heartbeat.

But for Hamilton and his wife, the nightmare was just beginning.

Medical records reviewed by CBS News show Hamilton's wife, who asked not to be named, was treated at a Surepoint Emergency Center branch near their home in North Texas. There, doctors confirmed the fetus — their second child — had no heartbeat, according to the records. His wife was prescribed the drug misoprostol, which induces labor and is used for both miscarriages and abortions. Hamilton says doctors told them the medication may need to be repeated, so they were prescribed one refill.

When the second round failed, Hamilton called the Surepoint Emergency Center and explained that the medication wasn't working. His wife returned to the medical center, where Hamilton says a different doctor told her they couldn't give her another refill to continue the process.

"You start thinking about the women that have to drive across state lines. We've heard these stories. And you — just as a husband, you go, 'Is that what we're gonna have to do?'" Hamilton wondered.

[they obtain a third dose from a different hospital]

Shortly after returning home, Hamilton recalled playing with his 9-month-old daughter when he noticed a missed call from his wife. He found her unconscious in the bathroom surrounded by blood. He carried her to the car and rushed to the emergency room.

The doctors told the couple that the third round of misoprostol was successful. Eventually, she was stable and the pair was able to return home. But the painful process of losing their child is something that will stick with them forever.

"I want people to know that this really happens. My fear is that stories like ours will continue to get told and not believed," Hamilton said. "Everything in her life right now that she's having to do to get better is not just a reminder of the baby that we lost, it's a reminder of what they put her through, and she has to do it every day."

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HTacianas said:

Can you explain what this has to do with Texas abortion laws?

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essentialsaltes said:

"I think the delay is their confusion on what they're allowed to do. That's what it feels like. They feel scared. The doctors feel scared," explained Hamilton about the hours-long visit.

Doctors told Hamilton that it wasn't enough of an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage — a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.

"The conversation is not what's best for my wife. The conversation is on the hospital side, 'What should we do?'" Hamilton said.

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essentialsaltes said:

Texas radio host Ryan Hamilton's world was shattered last month when his wife told him she was suffering a miscarriage at nearly 13 weeks pregnant and the fetus no longer had a heartbeat.

But for Hamilton and his wife, the nightmare was just beginning.

Medical records reviewed by CBS News show Hamilton's wife, who asked not to be named, was treated at a Surepoint Emergency Center branch near their home in North Texas. There, doctors confirmed the fetus — their second child — had no heartbeat, according to the records. His wife was prescribed the drug misoprostol, which induces labor and is used for both miscarriages and abortions. Hamilton says doctors told them the medication may need to be repeated, so they were prescribed one refill.

When the second round failed, Hamilton called the Surepoint Emergency Center and explained that the medication wasn't working. His wife returned to the medical center, where Hamilton says a different doctor told her they couldn't give her another refill to continue the process.

"You start thinking about the women that have to drive across state lines. We've heard these stories. And you — just as a husband, you go, 'Is that what we're gonna have to do?'" Hamilton wondered.

[they obtain a third dose from a different hospital]

Shortly after returning home, Hamilton recalled playing with his 9-month-old daughter when he noticed a missed call from his wife. He found her unconscious in the bathroom surrounded by blood. He carried her to the car and rushed to the emergency room.

The doctors told the couple that the third round of misoprostol was successful. Eventually, she was stable and the pair was able to return home. But the painful process of losing their child is something that will stick with them forever.

"I want people to know that this really happens. My fear is that stories like ours will continue to get told and not believed," Hamilton said. "Everything in her life right now that she's having to do to get better is not just a reminder of the baby that we lost, it's a reminder of what they put her through, and she has to do it every day."

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ThatRobGuy said:

It has to do with the vagueness of how some of the laws are written, and doctors being afraid of massive liability, potential loss of their career, and in some cases, even legal penalties (up to and including jail time) if their actions are interpreted as "running afoul of the abortion laws".


There are ways to impose limitations and restrictions on abortion procedures, most of the European countries do it (even the progressive Scandinavian countries have gestational limits that progressives here in the US would see as "overly strict"). However, specificity is key when drafting such laws, and the the legal framework needs to be robust in protecting Doctors and Patients so mishaps like the one described in the OP don't happen when there is a bona fide exception case.


To use an example/analogy:

If a staunchly anti-drug legislature passed a law, and it was written so poorly and vaguely that it said little more than "you can get a $10,000 fine or jail time if you sell drugs" (but doesn't elaborate much further beyond that, and doesn't explicitly carve out exceptions, and detailed descriptions of those exceptions).

A person running a legit licensed pharmacy could be hesitant to fill prescriptions, because after all, they are "selling drugs and controlled substances", and if the law was so vague that a biased judge could potentially "interpret" a pharmacist's actions as a "violation" of that law if they were to do something like fill a prescription for a painkiller (even if it's signed off on by a doctor), you're going to have pharmacists thinking "I can't take the risk", and sending people away when they're going there to get their vicodin prescription filled after back surgery (when that would otherwise be a perfectly appropriate time for a person to get authorized to use it)


I believe the metaphor used to describe that is the old "Using a shotgun when you actually need a rifle"
(shotgun involves less thought, effort, and aim to hit your target, but increases the risk of potentially hitting other things besides your target)

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HTacianas said:

But nothing like that is anywhere in the article.

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ThatRobGuy said:

The Texas Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to the state's abortion ban over medical exemptions, ruling that "Texas law permits a physician to address the risk that a life-threatening condition poses before a woman suffers the consequences of that risk." Doctors convicted of providing an illegal abortion could face fines of up to $100,000 and even jail time.


This was in the article, which part are you looking for more details on?

The only typo on my part was putting "10,000" instead of "100,000" for the potential fine amount, so that actually strengthens my argument.

If that sort of fine and jail time is going to be the punishment for performing an illegal abortion that doesn't meet an "approved exemption".

Then those terms need to clarified with the absolute highest level of specificity and leave no grey areas.

We're talking about people's life savings, their career, and their freedom... that can't be left to the broad interpretation of a single judge who could have a chip on their shoulder.

I'm okay with abortion restrictions, the whole "my body, my choice...abortion for any reason at any time" certainly isn't my position on this matter. But exceptions do need to exist, and they need to be spelled out to a T so that doctors aren't afraid to provide it when it's necessary.

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HTacianas said:

According to the story, a woman suffered a miscarriage. She was treated for it. Those are the facts of the story.

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Zaha Torte said:

I still don't see what this has to do with abortion.

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HTacianas said:

But nothing like that is anywhere in the article.

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HTacianas said:

According to the story, a woman suffered a miscarriage. She was treated for it. Those are the facts of the story.

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iluvatar5150 said:

Did you guys miss this part:

​

Doctors told Hamilton that it wasn't enough of an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage — a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.​

​

According to Texas law, abortions are illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law doesn't require there to be a medical emergency to perform a D&C if there's no cardiac activity, like in Hamilton's case.​

A D&C is an abortion procedure that would've been legal in the before-times. The way the article is written makes it sound like the procedure would've still been legal in this case, but that the hospital erred too far into CYB territory.

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Ceallaigh said:

CYB?

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iluvatar5150 said:

Cover Your Butt

I would have used the more common phrasing, but I don't need any more warnings.

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iluvatar5150 said:

Did you guys miss this part:

​

Doctors told Hamilton that it wasn't enough of an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage — a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.​

​

According to Texas law, abortions are illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law doesn't require there to be a medical emergency to perform a D&C if there's no cardiac activity, like in Hamilton's case.​

A D&C is an abortion procedure that would've been legal in the before-times. The way the article is written makes it sound like the procedure would've still been legal in this case, but that the hospital erred too far into CYB territory.

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ThatRobGuy said:

The Texas Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to the state's abortion ban over medical exemptions, ruling that "Texas law permits a physician to address the risk that a life-threatening condition poses before a woman suffers the consequences of that risk." Doctors convicted of providing an illegal abortion could face fines of up to $100,000 and even jail time.


This was in the article, which part are you looking for more details on?

The only typo on my part was putting "10,000" instead of "100,000" for the potential fine amount, so that actually strengthens my argument.

If that sort of fine and jail time is going to be the punishment for performing an illegal abortion that doesn't meet an "approved exemption".

Then those terms need to clarified with the absolute highest level of specificity and leave no grey areas.

We're talking about people's life savings, their career, and their freedom... that can't be left to the broad interpretation of a single judge who could have a chip on their shoulder.

I'm okay with abortion restrictions, the whole "my body, my choice...abortion for any reason at any time" certainly isn't my position on this matter. But exceptions do need to exist, and they need to be spelled out to a T so that doctors aren't afraid to provide it when it's necessary.

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iluvatar5150 said:

Did you guys miss this part:

​

Doctors told Hamilton that it wasn't enough of an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage — a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.​

​

According to Texas law, abortions are illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law doesn't require there to be a medical emergency to perform a D&C if there's no cardiac activity, like in Hamilton's case.​

A D&C is an abortion procedure that would've been legal in the before-times. The way the article is written makes it sound like the procedure would've still been legal in this case, but that the hospital erred too far into CYB territory.

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rjs330 said:

Did you miss rhe part where doctor made a.medical decision?

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