Medical Incompetence Again, Not Abortion Bans, To Blame for Neveah Crain's Death

It's happened again, this time in Texas. Another woman's death due to medical negligence is being blamed on abortion bans. The Guardian's headline reads: "Pregnant Texas teen died after three ER visits due to impact of abortion ban." But what the article actually reveals is something far more troubling: an astonishing level of medical incompetence being covered up by blaming abortion bans.

The First ER Visit, 0 hour: Diagnosed with Strep Throat, Ignored Complaints About Abdominal Pain

Six months along in her pregnancy, Neveah Craine visited an ER after finding herself feverish and vomiting. Diagnosed with strep throat, she was sent home. According to the Guardian's article. based on information included in an article by ProPublica, the doctors did not bother to investigate her complaints about sharp abdominal pains. They simply sent her home.

The Second ER Visit, 12 hours later: Diagnosed with Sepsis, Sent Home with No Further Help

The second ER visit got Neveah a diagnosis of sepsis which is not only fast-moving but also life-threatening, but they sent her home the moment the ultrasound confirmed a fetal heartbeat rather than doing anything to save both mother and baby. 

What should have happened?

For a six-month pregnant mother with sepsis, the primary treatment is immediate administration of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics within one hour of suspicion, alongside aggressive fluid resuscitation and monitoring of both maternal and fetal health, with the focus on stabilizing the mother first and identifying the source of infection; delivery might be considered depending on the severity of sepsis and gestational age if the infection originates from the uterus.

Delivery decision:

The decision to deliver the baby should be based on the severity of maternal sepsis, gestational age, and fetal well-being. 

Read more about the standard sepsis protocols put out by the NIH: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4031877/

The Third ER Visit, 24 hours later: 

Crying in pain, too weak to walk, blood staining her thighs, Neveah arrives at the emergency room with her mother, Candace Fails. Fails insists that doctors help her and the doctor orders two separate ultrasounds to "confirm fetal demise," clearly waiting for the baby to die before taking any action. After the second ultrasound, Neveah is moved to the ICU where she belonged from the moment she tested positive for sepsis.

By this point - two hours later - Crain's blood pressure plummeted, her lips were blue and dusky, and her organs were failing. She died just a few hours later.

Leveraging Abortion Bans to Excuse Medical Incompetence Is NOT Okay

What can be learned from a thorough review of the facts related to this case is that abortion bans had nothing to do with Neveah's death or the death of her baby. It had everything to do with doctors and nurses failing to treat her with the standard treatments and using abortion as a shield to excuse their incompetence. 

The worst part: The media covering up for the medical incompetence by hiding it behind hit pieces on abortion bans.