‘It was just despair’: Abortion bans leave doctors uncertain about care - even in emergencies

AUSTIN, Texas – Amanda and Josh Zurawski sit in the house they bought last year, the dream home they intended to share with their daughter.

They’ve told their story too many times now, but they brace themselves to tell it once more – from a room just above the backyard where they will one day plant a tree in memory of the baby who never made it home.

The Zurawskis went through about 18 months of fertility treatments before learning that Amanda was pregnant in spring 2022. But that August, when she was about 18 weeks along, something went terribly wrong.

At the hospital, Amanda was diagnosed with cervical incompetence, meaning there was virtually no chance her baby would survive past an inevitable premature birth. Normally, doctors would perform an abortion to end the pregnancy to prevent the mother from developing an infection.