Naveah Crain, an 18-year-old expecting mother, died on Oct. 29, 2023, after developing sepsis during a miscarriage. Her mother, Candace Fails, spoke with reporters from The Texas Tribune and ProPublica this month to share her daughter’s experience.
Both Fails and her daughter believed abortion to be morally wrong and against their Christian faith, which is why they decided that Crain should keep the baby after getting pregnant. Six months into the pregnancy, on the day she was meant to host her baby shower, Crain woke up feverish and in pain. She went to the emergency room three times before finally being admitted into intensive care, where she passed some hours later.
Her mother told The Texas Tribune and ProPublica that she did not understand why doctors did not treat the situation with the urgency it deserved. The first physician diagnosed her with strep throat and ignored her abdominal pain, and the second did an ultrasound and sent her home after confirming there was a fetal heartbeat, despite diagnosing her with sepsis. The third only sent her to intensive care after conducting two ultrasounds to confirm fetal demise before taking action, which was, by then, too late to save her life.
Crain spent 20 hours in pain, begging for medical attention, being passed around by physicians who were all too scared to provide her with care. Why? They were scared off by the state’s harsh abortion ban. As the law stands, medical practitioners can be prosecuted for any suspected involvement in the termination of a pregnancy. For this reason, they avoid treating pregnant women who are having any kind of complications.
Pregnancy is painful enough without having to wonder whether one can trust their doctors to help. Texas’ abortion ban is a suffocating measure that complicates the application of medical treatment, prevents doctors from doing their jobs and kills innocent women.
Fails was excited to welcome her granddaughter into the world, but instead she had to say goodbye to her daughter after witnessing her cries for help be ignored. This is the sort of horrible experience that the abortion ban foments.
When casting their votes on Nov. 5, Texas voters must keep the story of Crain in mind, and think of all the women and doctors made helpless under the state’s draconian anti-abortion stance. The right to an abortion is one of the most hot-button issues this election cycle — and for good reason. Women should have the autonomy to make this incredibly difficult personal decision about their health; doctors should have the freedom to provide lifesaving care to their patients without fear.
