Prevented from having an abortion, a Texan gives birth to a child condemned to die

A Texas woman was denied the ability to have an abortion despite her fetus being diagnosed with anencephaly, a doomed skull and brain malformation. A few months after the loss of her child, who died four hours after childbirth, Samantha Casiano is one of thirteen patients who are suing the State of Texas, demanding clarification of the “medical exceptions” to the laws now banning abortion.

“It was horrible, because I wanted my daughter to rest in peace as soon as possible and we had to wait until she was born,” 29-year-old Samantha Casiano told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “My daughter had anencephaly and was therefore bound to die quickly, before or after birth. In such a situation, a medical termination of pregnancy is often offered to families, the malformation irreparably condemning the child.

But since the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022 and gave states the freedom to legislate on this issue themselves, around 15 of them have adopted ultra-restrictive laws or made abortion illegal on their soil.

Texas is one of them. In this conservative state in the southern United States, abortion is now banned and doctors practicing it illegally face heavy fines and up to 99 years in prison. According to the 13 complainants, exceptions for medical reasons are too vaguely defined, which frightens doctors and dissuades them from performing an abortion, even in this context.

Samantha Casiano says she is a victim of these rules. His partner, Luis Villasana, 25, explains that they could have left illegally for another state, but did not have the financial means to do so, and would have risked a prison sentence. “It’s against the law,” he explains, adding, “We’re trying to do things right. »

During the last weeks of her pregnancy, her partner had been placed on antidepressants by her doctor, and had to endure the awkward praise and painful questions on her baby bump even though she knew full well that their child would not survive. “I hope the law will change so other women don’t have to go through what I had to go through and other fathers don’t have to see their child die at their hands,” Samantha Casiano now pleads.

The mother unfolded her painful story this week in front of a judge in Austin, and faced questions from the defense who argued that the medical exceptions could be used arbitrarily and as a pretext.

Haunted by the memory of having seen her baby die in the arms of her companion, Samantha collapsed in court. Vomiting, she had to be escorted out of the courtroom before bursting into tears.

Amanda Zurawski, the first to tell her story, told the court that she was also refused an abortion when her fetus was condemned. “When I needed an emergency abortion when I was pregnant with my daughter Willow, I had to go home and wait,” she told a press conference. The young woman was only able to obtain this procedure three days later, after suffering from sepsis. “I almost died because of Texas’ inhumane abortion laws,” she said.

Another plaintiff, Lauren Miller, pointed out that Samantha’s daughter had “suffocated”. “We shouldn’t be torturing babies and calling it pro-life,” as abortion opponents in the United States call themselves, she blasted.