A Texas woman has died after receiving inadequate medical treatment for a miscarriage, according to a new report from ProPublica – the fifth pregnant woman the publication has found to have died since the fall of Roe v Wade after receiving inadequate care or being denied a legal abortion.
Porsha Ngumezi, a 35-year-old mother of two, died in June 2023 after experiencing a miscarriage in Texas, where nearly all abortions are banned, ProPublica reported Monday. Ten weeks into her pregnancy, Ngumezi started to bleed and went to Houston Methodist Sugar Land, which is part of the Houston Methodist hospital chain and located in the Houston metropolitan area. While at the hospital, Ngumezi continued to bleed for several hours. She underwent multiple blood transfusions.
Doctors who reviewed Ngumezi’s case told ProPublica that she should have been offered a dilation and curettage, or D&C, a common procedure that can be used for miscarriages and abortions to clear tissue from the uterus. However, some doctors in states with abortion bans have become hesitant to offer D&Cs, doctors said, because they’re afraid of being punished for violating abortion bans – even in situations where women’s pregnancies have ended, as in Ngumezi’s case.
Rather than being offered a D&C, a doctor gave Ngumezi misoprostol, ProPublica reported. Although misoprostol is frequently used in miscarriages and abortions, it can be dangerous to give to women who are – like Ngumezi – bleeding heavily.
However, in states with abortion bans, doctors may feel more comfortable giving patients misoprostol than giving them D&Cs, because D&Cs can attract too much attention.
“You have to convince everyone that it is legal and won’t put them at risk,” Dr Alison Goulding, a Houston OB-GYN, told ProPublica of D&Cs. “Many people may be afraid and misinformed and refuse to participate – even if it’s for a miscarriage.”
Ngumezi started complaining of chest pain, but the doctor treating Ngumezi did not order any additional tests, according to ProPublica. Several hours after her arrival at the hospital, Ngumezi started fighting to breathe.
Her husband was at the hospital when Ngumezi died.
Doctors and nurses involved in Ngumezi’s care did not respond to ProPublica’s requests for comment. Houston Methodist also did not answer questions from the outlet.
“All Houston Methodist hospitals follow all state laws, including the abortion law in place in Texas,” a hospital spokesperson told ProPublica.
ProPublica has previously reported on four other deaths of women who had their medical care delayed after miscarriages or who were unable to undergo legal abortions. Two of the women, Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain, also lived in Texas. Two others, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, lived in Georgia, which bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
In reporting on Thurman and Miller’s deaths, ProPublica obtained reports from a state committee in Georgia that reviews the deaths of pregnant women and issues recommendations about how to improve the state’s maternal mortality rates. Georgia subsequently dismissed all 32 members of that committee, ProPublica reported last week.
