Georgia Mom Was Hemorrhaging but Couldn't Get Life-Saving Care Due to Abortion Ban: ‘I Wanted to Live’

• Avery Davis Bell had to have an abortion due to complications from a miscarriage
• Because of Georgia’s abortion ban, she was unable to receive medical care without her case being considered an emergency
• The 34-year-old expressed her frustration that she only underwent the procedure after her life was threatened and she developed lasting health problems

A Georgia mother nearly lost her life and is dealing with permanent health problems after state laws delayed her abortion.

Avery Davis Bell was overjoyed when she found out she was pregnant with her second baby in July. She and her husband are already parents of a three-year-old boy. However, this pregnancy came with a number of complications, USA Today reports.

The 34-year-old from Atlanta found out in the seventh week of her pregnancy that she had a subchorionic hematoma. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it’s a condition in which “blood builds up between the baby’s amniotic sac and the wall of the uterus.”

Bell was put on hiatus because she was bleeding profusely and underwent testing every two weeks to ensure she remained stable. However, on October 17, Bell was hospitalized because the bleeding worsened and she developed anemia. The doctors also told her that her water had broken prematurely and that she was at a very high risk of infection.

Avery Davis Bell.

USA TODAY/YouTube

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Bell now had a second-trimester miscarriage and her doctors determined she needed a D&E, or dilation and evacuation, which is an in-clinic abortion. During a D&E, the cervix is ​​dilated and surgical instruments are used to suction or scrape the lining of the uterus, removing the baby from inside the uterus.

Bella’s doctors told her it was the best procedure “because they can control the bleeding and keep me alive.”

“We didn’t intend to meet my child at this point,” she told the newspaper, fighting back tears.

However, Bell said her baby still has “heart activity” despite being in the process of miscarrying. She called it a “slow end to a pregnancy” that was “definitely over.”

Because of Georgia’s abortion ban, medical staff could not perform the procedure because Bell’s heavy bleeding was not considered urgent enough to waive Georgia’s mandatory 24-hour waiting period.

Georgia mum, 28, dies of ‘preventable’ infection after being denied life-saving procedure due to state abortion laws

Georgia bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy after a 2022 reversal Roe v. Wade. According to the law, “no abortion shall be performed if the unborn child has a measurable human heartbeat, except (a) in the case of a medical emergency or a medically futile pregnancy.”

The state defines a “medical emergency” as “a condition in which an abortion is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or significant and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”

In addition, in order to have an abortion, patients are subject to a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and must receive a consultation at least 24 hours before the procedure.

“They were trying to sign that paper so they could start the clock,” Bell recalled. “If my life is definitely in danger, they might do it. But where that line is is a bit difficult and my doctors, rightfully so, don’t really want to wait until you’re definitely dying to save you. And this isn’t a choice that would should have.”

“They should have said the safest thing, let’s start now. And they couldn’t do it,” she added.

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While they waited, Bella’s condition continued to deteriorate and her hemoglobin level dropped so low that she was approaching the point where a transfusion was required. Since her life was now in danger, she was able to postpone the abortion.

During the procedure, Bella’s health was so bad that she still needed a blood transfusion. She has also received two iron infusions since then. The mom said doctors told her it would take six months for her body to recover and return to baseline.

Although she is happy that the medical staff were able to save her life in the end, Bell admitted that she is “furious that it was harder for me than it should have been”.

“Your baby is dead or dying inside you, you’re just waiting to collapse,” Bell told the outlet. “And I wanted to live, of course, for myself and for my existing child, and the baby didn’t want to live no matter what.”

“Women in America are dying, their children are losing their mothers because of some non-scientific, non-rights-based legal rhetoric,” she said.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education