But because she was having a miscarriage in a hospital in Georgia, surgery had to wait.
Since the US Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
Several others restrict it to certain points in pregnancy, including Georgia, which limits abortion to the first six weeks of pregnancy.
Bell’s pregnancy was at 18 weeks — too early for her fetus to survive outside the womb but well past Georgia’s limit.
Doctors told Bell she’d have to wait, unless her condition grew worse: Georgia makes people wait 24 hours before they can have an abortion except in medical emergencies.
“I even told my wonderful husband, who obviously was very sad when we got this news, I said, ‘I love you.
Having family around her and having a science background made it easier to advocate for her care, she said. »
