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Maraya1969

(22,441 posts)
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 02:30 AM Jun 2022

Kind of can't believe this. Doctors cannot treat ectopic pregnancies now

I had one of these. First is was just devastating and then it got scary but I was under the care of great doctors who followed the pregnancy until it stopped dying (yea that's what happens sometimes) and then gave me a drug to kill it all the way. At the time it was awful because I had to go to the doctor's every other day for them to test my pregnancy hormones.

AND mine were going away. I don't understand why the decrease in pregnancy hormones stopped and if that meant that it would grow again - I have no idea but thinking that another woman in this situation now would not have access to the drug that stopped the pregnancy and they would have to just wait it out - that is abuse!

Someone needs to sue them those damn judges or anyone else that is to blame.

There is a special place in Hell for these sadists.




Jane van Dis MD
@janevandis
· 7h
OBGYN Colleague in Missouri “We are now observing patients with ectopic pregnancy and hemoperitoneum until they have a documented falling hemoglobin or unstable vital signs”


55 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Kind of can't believe this. Doctors cannot treat ectopic pregnancies now (Original Post) Maraya1969 Jun 2022 OP
'Someone needs to sue them those damn judges or anyone else that is to blame.' elleng Jun 2022 #1
Maybe a courageous doctor will wnylib Jun 2022 #3
Unbelievably, "the life of the mother" is no longer considered in these new laws Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #10
Particularly insane regarding ectopic pregnancies wnylib Jun 2022 #13
Exactly. Or pregnancies in which the fetus is no longer viable Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #14
Something similar happened to me yrs ago womanofthehills Jun 2022 #51
How horrible! And unethical! Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #52
Sadly doctors have the "right to refuse" and it's strong as hell LeftInTX Jun 2022 #4
I would like to see a courageous prosecutor go after the Judges and he Legislators avebury Jun 2022 #22
Transfer them to Illinois? roamer65 Jun 2022 #2
I guess we get to say to women with an ectopic pregnancy, PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2022 #5
Those guys will be more than happy to get new wives and daughters. BamaRefugee Jun 2022 #6
Hmmm. I hadn't thought about that. PoindexterOglethorpe Jun 2022 #7
I suspect a significant minority will be homicidally angry, and they're armed. sir pball Jun 2022 #50
scary times Demovictory9 Jun 2022 #8
Without timely medical intervention, women with ectopic pregnancies could very well die! Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #9
My understanding is that death is the very likely outcome. Scrivener7 Jun 2022 #18
That is the most likely outcome, but "the life of the mother" is no longer a consideration Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #21
I know. This is more draconian than anything that has ever been enacted before. Scrivener7 Jun 2022 #23
Domination of women. calimary Jun 2022 #11
Womb control. sarcasmo Jun 2022 #31
Yep. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!! calimary Jun 2022 #33
I watched a friend nearly die AmBlue Jun 2022 #12
Several years ago I had a boss whose wife wnylib Jun 2022 #15
Yes AmBlue Jun 2022 #26
Yikes! Thank you for sharing that traumatic story! Rhiannon12866 Jun 2022 #16
Yes, it is very serious business AmBlue Jun 2022 #25
What have we done to deserve this hatred? Dare to breathe? Freddie Jun 2022 #17
Might happen Brenda Jun 2022 #24
The fact that people are taking this is amazing! ananda Jun 2022 #19
What does it mean Tickle Jun 2022 #20
if you are hemorrhaging internally... AmBlue Jun 2022 #27
That is terrible almost murderous Tickle Jun 2022 #42
LOL... sorry AmBlue Jun 2022 #44
So science goes out the window with Roe V Wade spanone Jun 2022 #28
You got it. AmBlue Jun 2022 #30
Proper medical intervention for ectopics... AmBlue Jun 2022 #29
"Mother-killers." lastlib Jun 2022 #32
That is insane! My daughter almost died from Tree Lady Jun 2022 #34
That is horrifying and heartbreaking Hekate Jun 2022 #38
Daughter is fine many years ago Tree Lady Jun 2022 #39
Exactly Hekate AmBlue Jun 2022 #45
Even in a hospital setting, patients will die NickB79 Jun 2022 #35
how can the government essentially order doctors to violate the hippocratic oath? Takket Jun 2022 #36
It will happen to Republicans. dalton99a Jun 2022 #37
Huh. I had an ectopic pregnancy and was treated at a Catholic hospital. LAS14 Jun 2022 #40
I read recently EndlessWire Jun 2022 #41
Uncertainty about when Irish law allowed an abortion in a life-threatening situation killled ... muriel_volestrangler Jun 2022 #43
Here's my plan, until we get this clusterfuck fixed, have ectoipic emergencies airlifted... The Animator Jun 2022 #46
How do you do that for a poor woman without money or how do you make that a law? Maraya1969 Jun 2022 #48
I don't know much about it either. If it were up to me, I'd bill the legislators directly. The Animator Jun 2022 #49
This message was self-deleted by its author SalviaBlue Jun 2022 #47
I support women's right to defend their lives. And I will help them. nt CaptainTruth Jul 2022 #53
Maybe the doctors should stop listening to the lawyers. Mosby Jul 2022 #54
I imagine that would depend what state you live in? BlackSkimmer Jul 2022 #55

elleng

(130,126 posts)
1. 'Someone needs to sue them those damn judges or anyone else that is to blame.'
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 02:35 AM
Jun 2022

The State, the Governor, the Hospital, the Doctor.

wnylib

(21,146 posts)
3. Maybe a courageous doctor will
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 02:51 AM
Jun 2022

give the necessary treatment in a timely manner, the same as before the insane laws, and prove in court that he acted to save the woman's life since the pregnancy was not salvageable. Put an end to the BS

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
14. Exactly. Or pregnancies in which the fetus is no longer viable
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 04:14 AM
Jun 2022

I read an article back before the last election by Senator Gary Peters from Michigan, explaining why he was pro-choice. Back in the '80s, he and his wife were expecting a much wanted child, but something went wrong and the fetus was no longer viable. His wife desperately needed medical intervention, but no doctor or hospital would help since it was considered an abortion. As the cells deteriorated, she became very ill and could have died until at the last minute they found someone they knew who agreed to the procedure. Not all women would be this "lucky," if you can call nearly dying "lucky."

womanofthehills

(8,579 posts)
51. Something similar happened to me yrs ago
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 08:36 PM
Jun 2022

I had just moved to NC and did not realize I was in a catholic hospital. Fetus died and they would not do a D & C because that was abortion. I almost bled to death.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
4. Sadly doctors have the "right to refuse" and it's strong as hell
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 02:54 AM
Jun 2022

They refuse because they want to avoid liability.
Sadly the law is on their side.

They "dump you", thereby terminating the relationship. So in the case of a woman with an ectopic pregnancy, they dump her rather than treat it.

avebury

(10,946 posts)
22. I would like to see a courageous prosecutor go after the Judges and he Legislators
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:24 AM
Jun 2022

who voted for a bill and Governor who signed it into law for first degree murder. They intentionally passed a bill and signed it into law with the full knowledge that it would result in the deaths of women carrying unviable pregnancies. That is the very definition of pre-meditated murder.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
5. I guess we get to say to women with an ectopic pregnancy,
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 03:11 AM
Jun 2022

"Too bad. You die."

And I suppose Republicans will think that is just okay. I sincerely wish their own wives and daughters will have ectopic pregnancies, and then I want them to say, "It's okay that they die."

BamaRefugee

(3,476 posts)
6. Those guys will be more than happy to get new wives and daughters.
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 03:30 AM
Jun 2022

Abusing the old ones gets boring after a while.

sir pball

(4,726 posts)
50. I suspect a significant minority will be homicidally angry, and they're armed.
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 08:27 PM
Jun 2022

Hopefully they target the lawmakers and not the doctor after their wife bleeds to death screaming.

I'm absolutely, coldly serious.

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
21. That is the most likely outcome, but "the life of the mother" is no longer a consideration
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:19 AM
Jun 2022

Same thing if a fetus becomes non viable. That happened to Senator Peters' (D-MI) wife back in the '80s when something went wrong with her pregnancy. The fetus became non viable and she nearly died since no doctor or hospital would perform the procedure because it was considered an abortion. She became very ill and only survived because someone they knew agreed to the procedure. That's what other women are facing now.

Scrivener7

(50,773 posts)
23. I know. This is more draconian than anything that has ever been enacted before.
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:44 AM
Jun 2022

These men hate women, and they keep showing us that.

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
12. I watched a friend nearly die
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 04:03 AM
Jun 2022

A young woman I worked with was ectopically pregnant but did not know it. She had had an abortion some weeks previous but, because it was tubal, the D&C missed removing the fertilized egg. However, she believed herself to be no longer pregnant.

I knew nothing of her abortion at that time as it was her private business. Her desk was next to mine and we chatted each morning over coffee as we got revved up for the workday. Not long into one morning, she stood up very abruptly holding her abdomen and the desk to steady herself. I knew from her ashen gray face that something was seriously off. She said, "There's something REALLY wrong with me. All of a sudden I feel really strange." She asked for water which I gave her, but she rapidly felt worse not better.

We had no way to know it then, but at that moment she was hemorrhaging internally. Her tubal pregnancy had grown to the point that her fallopian tube could no longer accommodate the fertilized egg and it ruptured her tube.

I was so scared for her as she initially rejected me calling 911. But as she seemed only to be getting worse I called anyway. While we waited for the ambulance she laid down on the floor of our office and asked me to hold her hand... she said she felt like she was dying. When the ambulance arrived her blood pressure was so low they couldn't transport her without first stabilizing her BP. They worked on her a long while and finally got her into the ambulance. She didn't want to let go of my hand, so I went along into the ambulance. Once there, all of a sudden her BP started crashing again and I was very alarmed they would lose her! One of the EMTs ordered me to the front passenger seat of the ambulance and strapped me in, told me do not move!!

Meanwhile, I craned my neck to anxiously watch them in the rear as we still could not get on our way to the hospital due to her unstable BP. I could tell by their urgent movements they were very concerned for her as well. At that point, they put a pair of rubber pants on her which were then inflated. They later explained this was to keep her heart pumping and force oxygen to her brain. Finally, she was stable enough and they raced to the hospital.

My friend survived her ruptured tubal pregnancy, but just barely. It was a terrifying, life-or-death experience and one that awaits EVERY ectopically pregnant woman who does not receive appropriate intervention in time. Women MUST be able to access appropriate care as ectopics are non-viable and life threatening EVERY time. No exceptions!!

P.S. Besides my friend's story, i myself had two ectopic pregnancies and lost a tube and ovary to the first one. Because of the skill and miraculous talent of my wonderful doctor who saved my only remaining tube and ovary, I was able to have two normal pregnancies later on. I have two college age sons today because of the excellent care I received.

wnylib

(21,146 posts)
15. Several years ago I had a boss whose wife
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 04:27 AM
Jun 2022

was having a hard time getting pregnant due to endometriosis. She had surgery to remove the endometrial growths and took hormones. They were thrilled when a pregnancy test was positive.

A few weeks later we got an emergency call at the office from the boss's neighbor who was with his wife. She had called for an ambulance and said the wife was on the floor in pain. The boss was out of the office in various locations around town for his work. No cell phones then. We called every place he might be and people drove around Iooking for him. Tracked him down finally. He told us later that it was an ectopic pregnancy and her tube had burst. Extreme loss of BP, bleeding, and infection all had to be treated immediately. She survived, and her doctor said that she could get pregnant again, but would have to be very closely monitored from the start to treat it early if it happened again.

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
26. Yes
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 08:38 AM
Jun 2022

Last edited Wed Jun 29, 2022, 10:23 PM - Edit history (1)

I have read that endometriosis can make ectopic pregnancies more likely. You do have to be very careful if trying to get pregnant. It entails getting ultrasounds very early to identify the location of the fertilized egg.

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
16. Yikes! Thank you for sharing that traumatic story!
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 04:55 AM
Jun 2022

This is serious business which hasn't been part of the discussion - and it's a life-or-death situation!

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
25. Yes, it is very serious business
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 08:32 AM
Jun 2022

That's why I shared that story, for people who might not understand just how deadly ectopic pregnancies are. Also, once you've had one ectopic, there is a higher likelihood you'll have another. If your doctor is able to save it, the fallopian tube, once an egg has embedded there, sort of retains a memory and future fertilized eggs will embed there again. I'm sure that there is better medically correct language to describe that, but you get the gist.

The surgery for ectopic pregnancy is no walk in the park either. They cut you open with a "bikini" cut about 6" across and you typically lose your fallopian tube because the fertilized egg does too much damage to save it.

It was a bit of a miracle that I was able to have two norrmal pregnancies after my second ectopic. I lived in fear of having another.

Freddie

(9,231 posts)
17. What have we done to deserve this hatred? Dare to breathe?
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 05:24 AM
Jun 2022

I just wish this country would burn to the ground.

Tickle

(2,461 posts)
20. What does it mean
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:16 AM
Jun 2022

when your vitals crash? They can’t do anything until then? This makes zero sense to me 🤦?♀️

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
27. if you are hemorrhaging internally...
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 08:44 AM
Jun 2022

...your blood pressure crashes--goes very low-- and your heart doesn't have enough blood flowing to pump blood and oxygen to the brain. You can end up having a heart attack or if the brain is deprived of oxygen long enough you'll sustain brain damage.

When you hemorrhage internally, you are literally bleeding out on the inside.

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
30. You got it.
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 08:52 AM
Jun 2022

But make that WITHOUT Roe v. Wade. Everyone needs to have a plan in case they or a loved one has an unviable or unwanted pregnancy. Sadly many will not be able to afford such a plan even if they make one.

Check out cheesepilot on tiktok. He's got a possible plan for some.

AmBlue

(3,079 posts)
29. Proper medical intervention for ectopics...
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 08:52 AM
Jun 2022

....would be to identify the location of the pregnancy EARLY and if it's in the tube, it needs to be terminated immediately so it never gets big enough to rupture the tube. The tubal rupture is what causes a person to hemorrhage and potentily to die, and should be avoided at all costs.

Some states are making it so that doctors are legally unable or uncomfortable to terminate ANY pregnancy, and are turning women away--even those with ectopic pregnancies.

This is what the OP is pointing out--some doctors are waiting until the ruptured tube and crashed vitals happen before they will act. Due to the way their state's laws are written. It's insanity, and puts a woman's life in jeopardy unnecessarily.

Tree Lady

(11,370 posts)
34. That is insane! My daughter almost died from
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 05:15 PM
Jun 2022

That type of pregnancy.

The only way to save the mother is to take the fetus out. It happens in the beginning so its not far along.

With no exceptions for this or rape I hope it wakes up the young, this could happen to any of them at any time.

What are colleges going to do to solve rape problems they haven't done before?

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
38. That is horrifying and heartbreaking
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:24 PM
Jun 2022

But, please just one small request: what’s happening inside the fallopian tube is not a “fetus” but a tiny clump of dividing cells trying to grow in the wrong place, and it can kill the woman in whom it is happening. Calling it a “fetus” plays into the hands of those who want us to believe every fertilized egg looks like a newborn baby.

I hope your daughter is okay now.

NickB79

(19,109 posts)
35. Even in a hospital setting, patients will die
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:03 PM
Jun 2022

Not as many, but waiting will cost lives.

And even if the woman doesn't die, it sometimes takes a full hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. My coworker's wife had this happen. They have two daughters, and were trying for a boy. She hemorrhaged and almost died. Now they'll never have that son they wanted so badly, because she's sterile.

Unfortunately, it may take a few young women becoming martyrs to wake up those on the fence. It worked in Ireland.

Takket

(21,421 posts)
36. how can the government essentially order doctors to violate the hippocratic oath?
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:08 PM
Jun 2022

because that is what is happening here.............

LAS14

(13,749 posts)
40. Huh. I had an ectopic pregnancy and was treated at a Catholic hospital.
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:33 PM
Jun 2022

They removed one ovary, but, because they were Catholic, didn't remove the other one even though I was scheduled to have my tubes tied the next week.

It's all very confusing.

EndlessWire

(6,373 posts)
41. I read recently
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 06:38 PM
Jun 2022

that MDs had been scrambling to get abortion training while it would still be available, before the betrayal of the Roe v. Wade overturn. They knew it was coming after the leak.

There may come the day when no MD has had the training for the procedure. I just think that no Justice has the medical training to make the decisions they made, which does affect state law and changes what is available for women.

I doubt that they even understand what they did here. The SC, to me, just had a drop in IQ during the Trump years.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,146 posts)
43. Uncertainty about when Irish law allowed an abortion in a life-threatening situation killled ...
Wed Jun 29, 2022, 07:02 PM
Jun 2022

...Savita Halappanavar, and the outcry eventually got Ireland to legalise abortion. The USA is being taken in the opposite direction by the Supreme Theocracy.

On 21 October 2012, Halappanavar, then 17 weeks pregnant, was examined at University Hospital Galway after complaining of back pain, but was soon discharged without a diagnosis. She returned to the hospital later that day, this time complaining of lower pressure, a sensation she described as feeling "something coming down", and a subsequent examination found that the gestational sac was protruding from her body. She was admitted to hospital, as it was determined that miscarriage was unavoidable, and several hours later, just after midnight on 22 October, her water broke but did not expel the fetus. The following day, on 23 October, Halappanavar discussed abortion with her consulting physician but her request was promptly refused, as Irish law at that time forbade abortion if a fetal heartbeat was still present. Afterwards, Halappanavar developed sepsis and, despite doctors' efforts to treat her, had a cardiac arrest at 1:09 AM on 28 October, at the age of 31, and died. 
...
The law in force at the time stated that the act of abortion, where there was no immediate physiological threat to the woman's life to continue the pregnancy, was a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment. Following a ruling of the Supreme Court of Ireland in 1992 – now known in Ireland as the X case – terminations are allowed under certain circumstances, where "a pregnant woman's life is at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide". However at the time of Halappanavar's death, there was legal uncertainty regarding the precise circumstances in which this exception to preserve the life of the mother would apply in practice, as the matter had not yet been enacted in legislation.
...
Partly in response to the protest movement after the death of Savita Halappanavar, the Irish government introduced the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. Having passed both Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2013, it was signed into law on 30 July by Michael D. Higgins, the President of Ireland.
...
On 20 May 2018, the parents of Halappanavar called for a Yes vote in Ireland's referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment with her father saying, "I hope the people of Ireland will vote yes for abortion, for the ladies of Ireland and the people of Ireland. My daughter, she lost her life because of this abortion law, because of the diagnosis, and she could not have an abortion. She died." On 25 May 2018, the people of Ireland voted Yes to repeal the Eighth Amendment by a margin of 2 to 1.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Savita_Halappanavar

The Animator

(1,138 posts)
46. Here's my plan, until we get this clusterfuck fixed, have ectoipic emergencies airlifted...
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 06:48 PM
Jun 2022

...to the nearest sane state.
Then personally sue each legislator and court justice who made that expense necessary. If there is a way to get insurance companies entangled, I'd love to have their lawyers forced to fight for us for a change.

Maraya1969

(22,441 posts)
48. How do you do that for a poor woman without money or how do you make that a law?
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 07:28 PM
Jun 2022

Or if you just convince doctors that they will be sued until high Heaven if they allow a woman to die while they wait for her organs to fail maybe the doctor just makes that decision.

I don't know much about this

The Animator

(1,138 posts)
49. I don't know much about it either. If it were up to me, I'd bill the legislators directly.
Thu Jun 30, 2022, 08:22 PM
Jun 2022

It would skip the step of having to sue them to recover the medical expense of transporting patients ridiculous distances just to save their lives.

Response to Maraya1969 (Original post)

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