This woman was forced to carry her dead fetus for 2 weeks due to the Texas abortion ban

Just a few weeks after the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, one woman is sharing her heartbreaking—and horrifying—story to share how Texas abortion laws are impacting miscarriage care.

Marlena Stell, a beauty vlogger and founder of the Makeup Geek cosmetics company, first found out she was pregnant last year when she was seven weeks along. Sadly, just two weeks later, an ultrasound revealed that Stell had suffered a miscarriage.

“[The doctor] said there is no heartbeat. There is no viable pregnancy,” she tells CNN.

After learning that she had suffered a pregnancy loss, Stell asked her doctor for a dilation and curettage procedure (commonly known as D&C) to remove the fetus in order to avoid infection or long-term health complications. This procedure is also used to abort living fetuses. Her doctor initially refused.

“She said, ‘Well, because of the new law that’s passed, you’re going to have to get another ultrasound for me to be able to even do anything for you,’” Stell said.

Related: Many women don’t even know they’re pregnant at 6 weeks

Senate Bill 8, known as SB8, was passed in 2021 and is currently believed to be the strictest abortion ban in the U.S. and prohibits abortions after a heartbeat is detected, which typically occurs around 6 weeks gestation. In Texas—and a few other states—a doctor who surgically removes a dead fetus could be vulnerable to an expensive lawsuit, even if it’s the right thing to do for the pregnant person’s health.

Stell obtained a second transvaginal ultrasound at an imaging center. In a YouTube video she shared afterward, Stell describes the emotional and physical pain she endured.

“Someone shoves a wand in my in my sensitive area and tells me, ‘Hey, you lost your baby’ again. I shouldn’t have to go through that twice,” she said. “It was gut-wrenching, sorry, ‘cause you already know what you’re going to see. It’s just like, seeing it twice, being told that you’re not going to be a mom. It just feels very … it’s like I can’t grieve or move past it because I’m just walking around carrying it.”

After two weeks, she told the outlet that she was finally able to find a doctor who would perform her D&C. 

Atlanta-based OBGYN Dr. Lillian Schapiro tells CNN that carrying a dead fetus is a major health risk for the mother.

“She can develop an infection that can make her sterile and never able to have children again,” Schapiro said. “When the baby dies inside, the baby starts to release parts of its tissue that can get into the mother’s blood supply. It can cause organ failure. It can cause death.” 

Related: The majority of women who seek abortions are already mothers

As for Stell, she says she’s no longer trying to get pregnant again out of fear of pregnancy loss and being unable to get the miscarriage care she would need.

“I get so angry that I was treated this way because of laws that were passed by men who have never been pregnant and never will be,” Stell said in her YouTube video. “I’m frustrated, I’m angry and I feel like the women here deserve better than that. “It doesn’t matter what side of the fence that you want to sit on, laws like this affect all women regardless of what situation you’re in and it’s not right.”

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