“A woman died after being told it would be a ‘crime’ to intervene in her miscarriage at a Texas hospital,” reports ProPublica. ABC News ran with the story, announcing, “Woman dies after abortion care for miscarriage delayed over 40 hours.” The headline is spreading on social media in these last hours leading up to election day, November 5.
Readers might skim over the fact that the young mother’s tragic death occurred in 2021, a year before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (That ruling was handed down on June 24, 2022.)
This is a clear case of leftist, pro-abort media exploiting a tragedy for political gain. Shame on you, ProPublica, ABC, and anyone else who broadcasts this pandering spin on a truly heartbreaking calamity!
However, for argument’s sake, let’s assume that the deceased, Josseli Barnica, died after the demise of Roe v. Wade. The ProPublica story still doesn’t hold up.
“Barnica is one of at least two Texas women who ProPublica found lost their lives after doctors delayed treating miscarriages, which fall into a gray area under the state’s strict abortion laws that prohibit doctors from ending the heartbeat of a fetus,” claims the outlet.
The Law Is Clear
But there is no “gray area,” nor are healthcare professionals confused by pro-life laws. Legal measures that restrict abortion apply exclusively to elective procedures (i.e. surgical and chemical abortions). The latter are offered at abortion mills such as Planned Parenthood clinics. Their purpose is to kill the unborn baby. No one rushes off to Planned Parenthood when they’re having a miscarriage. Miscarriage is not an elective abortion procedure.
There is no pro-life law in any state that applies to miscarriage, stillbirth, vaginal bleeding, or any other pregnancy-related emergency. In Texas, the law takes into account the fact that people might not understand this very important distinction. So it specifies in detail that the law does not apply to non-elective procedures (e.g., those necessary to save the mother’s life, to prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function,” or for medical conditions such as miscarriage). Again, this was shoddy reporting on the part of ProPublica and ABC for failing to fact-check this via publicly-available information, thereby perpetuating a lie!
Claims that demonize pro-life laws “are completely false, and I think they’re intentionally false narratives meant to scare women and physicians into supporting elective abortion,” Dr. Christian Francis told The New American. She is CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG).
Francis practices in Indiana, a state that also has strong pro-life laws. When asked whether the overturning of Roe v. Wade has changed things for her in any way, she responded, “Not a bit.” She is just as free now to handle pregnancy complications with the same treatments she has always used. She does not have to wait to administer life-saving treatment to any of her patients, born or unborn.
The “Experts”
But ProPublica claims that “more than a dozen medical experts” reviewed Barnica’s medical records for the news outlet. The unnamed “experts” concluded that her death was caused by an “egregious” delay in providing care. Why aren’t the members of the medical team reported to the state medical board? Why isn’t the hospital embroiled in lawsuits? The article is curiously silent on this subject.
It does mention one lawsuit, however, brought in 2023. A group of women and doctors represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights sued the State of Texas over what it claimed were ambiguities in its abortion ban. In June, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the plaintiffs. According to NBC News, the court explained that Texas law “does not mandate that a woman’s death be imminent for a doctor to perform an abortion due to a life-threatening complication, and that a doctor’s judgment can be reasonable even if not all physicians agree with it.”
Nothing to Do With Pro-life Laws
While it is true that Barnica’s death could be attributed to medical negligence or malpractice, that has nothing to do with pro-life laws. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a healthcare professional who would deny life-saving treatment to a pregnant woman suffering a miscarriage — that is, if he hopes to remain out of the courtroom and to maintain his medical license in good standing.
“The doctors involved in Barnica’s care at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest did not respond to multiple requests for comment on her case,” ProPublica doxxed. Of course they didn’t. Aside from the time-honored and legally binding physician-patient privilege, the 1996 federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) strictly prohibits hospitals and healthcare workers from divulging information about their patients.
ProPublica promises to follow up this story with another similar tragedy. That dross is sure to drop before next Tuesday. Reader, beware.
