Following the miscarriage-related deaths of two Texas women, Senate candidate Colin Allred placed the blame on his opponent, Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
“This is Ted Cruz’s fault,” Allred said during a virtual press conference on Nov. 1. “This is his abortion ban. He has made it his life’s work to put Texas women in life-threatening situations.”
The women’s deaths were first reported by ProPublica on October 30 and November 1.
Joseli Varnica died of an infection on September 8, 2021, after waiting 40 hours for miscarriage treatment under Texas’ six-week abortion ban at the time. Nevaeh Crane, 18, died on October 29, 2023 while trying to receive treatment for a miscarriage after having to visit the emergency room three times in one day before doctors could admit her.
Allred said Cruz has helped elect anti-abortion Texas legislators and federal judges, defended laws restricting abortion rights, and lobbied the U.S. Supreme Court to ban federal emergency abortion mandates. He claimed that he was responsible for doing so.
The candidate was joined on the call by an obstetrician-gynecologist and a Texas woman who was denied an abortion.
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) spoke about the miscarriage-related deaths of two Texas women during a virtual press conference on Nov. 1. Allred was joined by obstetricians and gynecologists to deny abortions to the Texas women pictured in the top bar.screenshot
“Bad things happen when you restrict access to prenatal care and put fear and fear in the hands of doctors who are committed to caring for women with this condition,” said Dr. Austin Dennard, OB. Ta. – An obstetrician-gynecologist who had to leave Texas for an abortion. “Ted Cruz’s abortion ban limits doctors’ ability to properly treat patients.”
Cruz declined to respond to the ProPublica article about Varnica’s death, but later defended Texas’ near-total abortion ban, saying it was “a real tragedy.” Texas’ medical emergency exception has been criticized by doctors as “dangerously opaque.”
The state’s anti-abortion law requires doctors to ensure there is no fetal heart activity before proceeding with any procedure that could end a pregnancy. Although there are exceptions for medical emergencies, the majority of obstetricians and gynecologists in Texas say they fear prosecution.
Doctors who violate the state’s 2022 abortion ban could face up to 99 years in prison, a $100,000 fine and loss of their medical license.
Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Kim Vernon said: “The deaths of these two young women were probably preventable based on medical records, but this is happening because doctors are afraid.” “They don’t know what to do because of the laws that are currently in place.”
The federal Emergency Medical Labor Act requires hospitals (almost all) that receive Medicare funding to stabilize or transport patients who arrive at the emergency room. The Biden administration has argued that this also applies to pregnant patients, even if the treatment violates state law and includes abortion.
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit in 2022 seeking to block the mandate. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld a decision barring the federal mandate for emergency abortions in Texas. In a similar case in Idaho, Mr. Cruz petitioned the high court to block the emergency abortion requirement.
“As Ted Cruz and anti-abortion politicians push the lie that there are maternal health exceptions under abortion bans, they are killing us.” said Lauren Miller, who was unable to obtain an abortion in Texas despite medical complications. “The goalposts are always moving and any exceptions to the abortion ban are a lie.”
