Nancy Davis: Woman claims she was denied abortion even after baby was found to have NO SKULL
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: A woman from Louisiana expressed her outrage after she was denied abortion by her state's abortion law despite the fact that her unborn child won't survive. Nancy Davis, who is 15 weeks pregnant, announced that she will leave the state next week for a "medically necessary" abortion because the fetus she is carrying has a fatal condition called acrania. Davis found out about her unborn child's condition at her first ultrasound which revealed that the baby has acrania, a terminal condition in which the infant’s skull does not develop in utero. Children born with the condition typically die minutes or hours after birth.
The law that forbids Davis bans all abortions except when the woman faces a significant risk of death or impairment if she continues her pregnancy, and in the case of "medically futile" pregnancies. Davis was told that if she carried the pregnancy to full term and gave birth, the baby would most likely survive for only a few minutes to a week. She also criticized the vague language of her state's abortion law for subjecting her to suffering because she doesn't want to experience the traumatic experience of that labor.
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Who is Nancy Davis? Mom denied abortion even though ultrasound reveals baby won't survive
On the steps of the Louisiana Capitol building, Nancy Davis of Louisiana spoke with her lawyer Ben Crump about having to travel to another state because she couldn't get an abortion in her own state on Friday, August 26. She said, "Basically, they said I had to carry my baby to bury my baby. They seemed confused about the law and afraid of what would happen to them." "Louisiana lawmakers inflicted unspeakable pain, emotional damage and physical risk upon this beautiful mother," Lawyer Crump said about Davis.
Along with her attorney, Ben Crump, she has criticized the way the law has been applied to her for months, claiming that it is intentionally vague and confusing. "Ms. Davis was among the first women to be caught in the crosshairs of confusion due to Louisiana's rush to restrict abortion, but she will hardly be the last," said Crump.
Although doctors advised Davis to have an abortion, they claimed they were unable to carry it out because doing so would subject them to up to 15 years in prison in Louisiana. Woman's Hospital's spokesperson, Caroline Isemann, said in a statement to media outlets last week that the hospital was unable to comment on a specific patient but reiterated that the hospital's goal is to offer the "best possible care for women" while adhering to state laws and policies. Sen Katrina Jackson, the law's author, and other lawmakers have since claimed that Davis is eligible for an abortion and that the hospital "grossly misinterpreted" the law.
"The law is clear as mud," Crump stated. "Every women´s situation is different and subject to interpretation, so of course, medical professionals don´t want to risk prison or to have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of fines for making the wrong call. Who would just take somebody´s word for it when their liberty is in jeopardy?"
Davis wants the Louisiana legislature and Governor John Bel Edwards to hold a special session in order to clarify the law, and she has not yet lodged a complaint or filed a lawsuit. The next regular session of the Louisiana legislature is scheduled for April 2023. "Imagine how many women may be affected before (lawmakers) come back into session," Crump stated. "How many more Nancy Davises will have to endure the mental anguish and mental cruelty before the legislators clear up these vague and ambiguous laws."
In Roe v Wade, the United States Supreme Court recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion in 1973. The landmark decision legalized abortion across the country, but it divided public opinion and has been criticized ever since.
The overturning of Roe v Wade gives states more leeway in deciding whether women have the right to abortion, which is becoming increasingly difficult in some states. A Florida court recently ruled that an orphaned 16-year-old girl cannot have an abortion because she is "not mature enough" to make the decision. The adolescent girl, who has no parents, is now appealing the decision after a judge barred her from terminating her pregnancy.