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A Texas mother who was forced to give birth to her stillborn son in Texas has joined seven other women in a lawsuit against the state who were denied abortions while facing serious pregnancy complications I went.
Kiersten Hogan from the Dallas-Forth Worth area shared with The Center for Reproductive Rights her personal experience of being denied reproductive health care in Texas while facing serious pregnancy complications.
“I was made to feel less than human,” Ms. Hogan said. Said, “Texas law detained me against my will for five days and treated me like a criminal during one of the most painful and heartbreaking experiences of my life.”
Ms Hogan learned she was pregnant in June 2021 while living in Oklahoma with her boyfriend. According to her testimony, she was shocked by the news as she had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and a history of miscarriage but was excited.
Shortly after being found out, Ms Hogan said she was forced to leave her boyfriend after he became violent and insisted she get an abortion. She moved to Texas to seek a new life.
In the first few months of her pregnancy, Ms. Hogan went to the emergency room several times with cramps and bleeding. Doctors insisted that everything was fine, she said. But in September 2021, at 19 weeks pregnant, Ms Hogan’s water broke and she experienced cervical insufficiency.
However, Ms. Hogan was unable to have an abortion due to Texas law sb 8 Which outlaws abortion after the fetal heartbeat, unless the mother’s life is at risk.
SB 8 takes effect on 1 September 2021
Ms. Hogan was forced to stay at the hospital until she went into labor or her condition worsened to the point that hospital staff could perform an abortion on her.
Hospital staff told Ms Hogan that if she tried to leave it could be used as evidence that she was trying to kill her baby and criminal charges could be brought against her.
Ms Hogan said she felt “trapped” and “terrified” inside the hospital for the four days leading up to the time she gave birth to her stillborn son.
Now Ms. Hogan is joining the lawsuit Zurawski v. State of TexasAbortion denied by Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of women since Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade,
Ms. Hogan said, “I’m getting involved in this case because women deserve better.”
The lawsuit, launched in March 2023 on behalf of five Texas women, is seeking the state of Texas to “clarify the scope of the state’s ‘measurable emergency’ exception under its extreme abortion restrictions,” According to Center for Reproductive Rights.
Since its filing, eight more women have joined and three have shared their stories of experiencing a lack of health care during a terrifying time in their lives—including Ms. Hogan.
“The government of Texas must answer for its laws that have nearly killed these women and put more lives at risk every day,” Molly Duane, senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
“It is clearer than ever that abortion is an important part of maternal health care, and health care decisions should be left to doctors and patients, not politicians. The Court must act now to protect pregnant Texans.
