An 18-year-old pregnant woman in Texas died in October 2023 after several delays in medical care, as noted by her family and medical experts. Medical staff checked for fetal viability via ultrasound twice before taking action, which experts deemed a medically unwarranted delay.

Texas’ abortion law complicates emergency care negligence cases, requiring proof of “willful and wanton negligence” by hospitals.

The second hospital diagnosed her with sepsis which is considered life-threatening but said the fetus was still alive. It wasn’t until the third hospital that she was told she suffered “fetal demise.”