Woman carrying fetus without a skull forced to leave Louisiana to get an abortion

NEW ORLEANS — When Nancy Davis learned the child she was carrying had a rare and fatal condition, she was devastated.

“Being a mother starts when your baby is in the womb. Not outside,” Davis said. “The attachment and everything comes with it.”

Diagnosed with Acrania, doctors say the child’s skull will never form and the baby can’t survive outside the womb.

Doctors recommended she get an abortion, but Louisiana’s abortion clinics closed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade and the state’s anti-abortion trigger law went into effect.

There, what many people feared could happen in post-Roe Louisiana did: Doctors at Woman’s Hospital refused to give her an abortion. Davis said they told her Louisiana’s laws were too vague, and they feared the severe criminal penalties they could face by performing an abortion.

“Basically, they said I had to carry my baby to bury my baby,” she said.

It’s exactly why local abortion providers and advocates challenged Louisiana’s trigger law in court — they said it was too vague, too severe, and could cause harm to patients.

“Louisiana has created an environment of confusion and fear for both women and their healthcare providers,” Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump said.

Crump is representing Davis, but they have not filed a lawsuit against the state or hospital. For now, they’re calling on the Louisiana Legislature to convene a special session and hammer out the problems with the current abortion law.

A group of 30 profile legislators responded to reports on Davis’ situation, saying that the doctors at Woman’s Hospital “grossly misinterpreted the law” and that she should be allowed to have an abortion.

“Although many of us share a faith which would compel us to carry this child to full term believing that throughout the pregnancy the child’s vital organs will form, we voted for this exception and therefore recognize it as law,” the statement reads.

It is signed by 36 Louisiana legislators — 25 of them men.

Woman’s Hospital said they couldn’t comment on individual patients, but when it comes to medically futile pregnancies:

“There has been much discussion over the interpretation of some of the new legislation regarding treatment for medically futile pregnancies. As medical providers, Woman’s Hospital stands by our mission to provide the best possible care for women in our community, and supports medical decisions made between a physician and their patient that comply with all state laws and policies.”

A spokesperson for Louisiana’s Department of Health said that the law is “clean and unambiguous and the Louisiana Department of Health has complied with its legal obligations.”

Davis said that she plans to travel to North Carolina to receive an abortion.

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