Denied abortion for a doomed pregnancy, she tells Texas court: 'There was no mercy'

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/19/ [login to see] /denied-abortion-for-a-doomed-pregnancy-she-tells-texas-court-there-was-no-mercy
Samantha Casiano, who gave birth to a baby who lived just four hours, broke down and became physically ill on the witness stand as she told the story of her doomed pregnancy in an Austin, Texas, courtroom on Wednesday. Her husband, Luis Villasana, rushed to the front of the courtroom to help her, during a hearing in a case challenging the abortion bans in Texas.

Casiano was one of three women who gave dramatic testimony about their pregnancies in the case brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights. The case, on behalf of 13 patients and two doctors, argues that the medical exceptions to Texas' laws are unclear and unworkable for doctors in ways that harm patients. They also say that the state has done nothing to clarify its laws.

The case is thought to be the first time the experiences of women have been heard in open court since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion last June.