MAGA Abortion Bans Fatal: Texas Teen Dies After Being Denied Care

Nevaeh Crain was supposed to celebrate her 20th birthday on Friday. Instead, her life was tragically cut short by a restrictive abortion law backed by Republicans.

Following reports on Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, who both perished due to a restrictive law in Georgia following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, ProPublica focused its investigative lens on Texas. The outlet highlighted the cases of Josseli Barnica and 18-year-old Crain, who died last year from complications related to sepsis after a miscarriage, during which she was planning to name her daughter Lillian, and experienced delayed healthcare.

“Crain began feeling unwell with a headache on the morning of October 28, 2023, the day of her baby shower,” ProPublica reported. She rapidly developed vomiting and a fever, and sought medical assistance at two different Texas hospitals three times within 20 hours. The report further noted: “During her third hospital visit, a physician ordered two ultrasounds to ‘confirm fetal demise’ before she was finally moved to intensive care. She passed away a few hours later.”

As reporters Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana revealed:

ProPublica condensed over 800 pages from Crain’s medical files into a succinct four-page timeline with the aid of two maternal-fetal medicine specialists; this timeline was reviewed by nine doctors, including university researchers, OB-GYNs specializing in miscarriages, and experts in emergency and maternal medicine.

Some noted that the initial emergency room overlooked critical infection symptoms. All agreed that the second hospital’s decision to discharge Crain when her sepsis symptoms persisted was wrong. Moreover, when she returned the third time, there was no justification for delaying urgent care to perform two ultrasounds.

“These restrictions are what lead to women’s deaths,” commented Dr. Dara Kass, a former regional director at the Department of Health and Human Services and an emergency physician in New York. “It’s never just one bad decision or one individual—it’s a systemic issue.”

Crain and her mother, Candace Fails, held the belief that abortion was morally wrong, as reported by ProPublica. “Crain only supported abortion in cases of rape or life-threatening conditions, as she often discussed with her mother. Their concern wasn’t the government’s stance but rather the guidance of their Christian faith.”

Fails expressed to the reporters that she expected the doctors to do everything in their power to save her daughter, even at the expense of the pregnancy, yet the medical staff seemed preoccupied with the fetal heartbeat. “It might sound selfish, and God knows I’d prefer to have them both, but if forced to choose,” she said, “I would’ve chosen my daughter.”

Despite the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) mandating emergency departments that accept Medicare to offer “necessary stabilizing treatment,” which under the Biden-Harris administration is argued to include abortions, The Associated Press reported in August that over 100 patients across the country had been “rejected or inappropriately treated since 2022.”

Republican leaders in various states, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have contested the Biden-Harris administration’s interpretation of EMTALA. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court opted not to reconsider a lower court ruling that prohibits emergency abortions conflicting with Texas law.

ProPublica‘s coverage on Crain’s death is emphasized as early voting commences for the November 5 elections, where American voters will decide between former Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president, and which party will control Congress.

Democrats are vigorously campaigning on the issue of reproductive rights, pointing out that Trump appointed three of the justices responsible for the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that revoked national abortion rights. Trump also opposes a Florida ballot initiative that seeks to ban pre-viability abortion restrictions, where a six-week ban is currently in place. In contrast, Harris has supported eliminating the filibuster to enshrine Roe.

While the GOP currently leads the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has conducted several votes challenging Republicans to publicly oppose federal measures that would safeguard abortion care, contraception, and fertility treatments. Texas Congressman Colin Allred, a Democrat challenging U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), acknowledged Crain’s story on Friday.

“This is a heartbreaking situation. My thoughts are with Nevaeh’s family,” Allred stated online. “Texas physicians are hindered from performing their duties due to Ted Cruz’s harsh abortion restrictions. Cruz even advocated to the Supreme Court to allow states to ban life-saving emergency abortions. We can’t endure another six years of Ted Cruz.”

Others have reacted to the new report by directing anger at anti-choice Republican officials who seek to limit reproductive healthcare.

“This new piece from ProPublica regarding Nevaeh Crain is devastating,” said Cecile Richards, co-founder of Abortion in America and ex-president of Planned Parenthood. “She was a young woman who should still be alive, but isn’t, due to the abortion bans in Texas and the failure to provide essential care in a critical situation.”

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), who has openly shared her own pre-Roe abortion experience, stated emphatically that “MAGA abortion bans KILL WOMEN.”

Center for American Progress’ Alex Wall echoed, “This is appalling. Nevaeh Crain should be celebrating her life today. Donald Trump’s MAGA abortion bans are responsible for the death of women.”

Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, which supports Harris, highlighted that “these Republican extremists in Texas opposed the Biden-Harris efforts to defend women like Nevaeh and Josseli.”

“There’s a special place in hell for Ken Paxton,” she added, condemning the Texas attorney general. “Make no mistake, Donald Trump’s abortion ban caused this. We must stop him.”