Austin woman denied emergency abortion blasts Cornyn and Cruz at Senate hearing

WASHINGTON — Amanda Zurawski, the Austin woman who developed a life-threatening infection when doctors delayed an abortion even though her fetus was not expected to survive, blasted Texas’ senators Wednesday, blaming them for her ordeal and potential infertility.

“I nearly died on their watch,” she testified at a Senate Judiciary hearing, referring to Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. “As a result of what happened to me, I may have been robbed of the opportunity to have children in the future. And it’s because of the policies that they support.”

The senators, both Republicans, were not on hand for those comments. But Cornyn later agreed that Zurawski should not have had to wait for an abortion, given that doctors agreed a miscarriage was inevitable.

“Sounds like she’s got a good medical malpractice lawsuit,” he told reporters.

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Cruz did not respond when offered the opportunity to comment through aides.

Zurawski and four other women denied abortions in Texas despite dangerous pregnancy complications have sued the state, seeking clarity on when doctors can legally perform the procedure.

“What’s going on is not an accident,” she testified, blaming the senators, among other Texas Republican officials.

“I wanted to address my senators Cruz and Cornyn, who, neither of who regrettably are in the room right now. … What happened to me, I think most people in this room would agree was horrific,” she testified. “But it’s a direct result of the policies that they support.”

As U.S. senators, Cruz and Cornyn had no direct role in a state-level ban adopted by the Legislature.

Both have long supported curbs on abortion access, though.

And like nearly all Senate Republicans, both supported the three Trump-named justices whose confirmations paved the way for the Supreme Court to strike down Roe v. Wade in June.

Texas is one of 13 states that outlaw abortion. In Texas, the only exception is to save the life of a pregnant woman or alleviate the risk of “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.”

The lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights asserts that Zurawski and the other women suffered “catastrophic harms” because the statute is too vague to assuage doctors’ fears of a $100,000 fine, life in prison and loss of a medical license.

Most of the five plaintiffs ended up going to another state to have an abortion. Their cases have become cause célèbre for abortion rights groups.

Zurawski sat with first lady Jill Biden as an honored guest at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Vice President Kamala Harris often invokes her case.

At Wednesday’s hearing, chaired by Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, some Republicans emphasized harms suffered by women who terminated a pregnancy.

A San Antonio obstetrician who opposes abortion, Dr. Ingrid Skop, told senators that “anxiety, depression, substance and alcohol abuse, and suicide are higher after abortion, particularly late or coerced abortions.”

She also told senators that Zurawski’s doctors should not have withheld an abortion.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists “tells us when it’s appropriate to offer delivery,” Skop testified.

“Back many years ago, I used to handle medical malpractice cases,” Cornyn responded. “And usually when a medical expert says that what a doctor did violated the standard of care, that gave rise to a cause of action for medical malpractice.”

Zurawski, invited to testify by Democrats, bristled at the emphasis on mental health impacts for having an abortion, as opposed to being denied one when it was needed.

“We’ve heard a lot today about the mental trauma and the negative harmful effects on a person’s psychological well-being after they have an abortion, supposedly,” she told the committee. “I’m curious why that’s not relevant for me as well, because I wasn’t permitted to have an abortion.”

In July, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down Roe and ended a half-century of constitutional protection for abortion, the Biden administration issued guidance telling doctors they’re protected by federal law when they perform an emergency abortion, regardless of any state law.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton challenged that guidance in court, asserting the federal government was trampling states’ rights.

Zurawski told senators that she and others have been caught in the middle of the legal tug-of-war.

“The trauma and the PTSD and the depression that I have dealt with in the eight months since this happened to me is paralyzing,” she said. “On top of that, I am still struggling to have children.”

The lawsuit in a Travis County state court doesn’t seek to overturn Texas’ abortion ban, which took effect after the Supreme Court struck down Roe.

Instead, it asks the judge to clarify that doctors can perform medically necessary abortions, as when a complication poses a risk of infection or bleeding, or the fetus is unlikely to survive.

Another law, known as Senate Bill 8, deters abortion by allowing private citizens to sue doctors or anyone else who aids an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.