Report shows another death caused by an abortion ban

Josseli Barnica waited 40 hours to get care that could have saved her life.

ProPublica continued its reporting on how abortion bans have led to the deaths of women who had sought emergency care. 

On Wednesday, they published an article about Josseli Barnica, who died in Texas in 2021 after its ban had gone into effect. Doctors wouldn’t perform a needed abortion on her because they wanted there to be no fetal heartbeat. The delay led to complications in her pregnancy, which led to her death. This story comes on the heels of similar ones from Georgia that appeared in September. 

The issue of whether doctors could provide emergency care in situations involving abortion care has been the subject of both a Senate report published in July and a Supreme Court case that was sent down to a lower court for further consideration. 

The report mentioned above indicated some doctors are reluctant to perform life-saving abortions because of the abortion bans. In situations where they can’t provide an abortion, they have to shop around to find another provider. That’s part of the transfer provision central to legal challenges over these laws. 

In certain situations, like an ectopic pregnancy, abortions are a necessary procedure to preserve and maintain the mother’s health. Some who have faced complications but who haven’t been adequately cared for by obstetricians may show up in emergency settings to get what they need. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, EMTALA for short, stipulates that emergency staff must provide all required care, including abortions. The Biden Administration challenged an Idaho law known as the Defense of Life Act, which prohibits abortions unless they save the mother’s life.

The Idaho abortion ban was at the center of the Moyle V. United States case that the court ruled on earlier this summer. In an unintentionally released opinion that was unusually divided over legal reasoning, the Supreme Court decided that it would permit hospitals in Idaho to perform abortions in emergency settings. But the victory was temporary. The judges sent the case back down to the Court of Appeals, where it will be deliberated upon further before a potential reappearance in the Supreme Court.