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An Arizona mom is speaking out after being forced to carry her non-viable fetus to term.
Chloe, who does not want to use her last name, was overjoyed when she first found out she was pregnant in January 2022, becoming even more excited when she learned it was a girl, according toGood Morning America. Mom to an almost 6-month-old, Chloe had dreams of her two girls becoming close friends.
Upon realizing her daughter would not live very long, the 22-year-old was devastated. According to the outlet she said she “broke down” and said, “I have never felt that way in my entire life.”
She decided she wanted to terminate. But whenRoe v. Wadewas overturned, states had the power to determine their own abortion laws. Arizona enacted a 15-week ban with exceptions only for when continuing with the pregnancy would “create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” for the mother.
Suddenly, Chloe’s OB-GYN refused to end her pregnancy.
“It was like an immediate no, you can’t get an induction to terminate,” Chloe told the outlet. “When [my doctor] told me, I couldn’t even get any words out … I just felt so stuck.”
She tried to go out of state to a clinic but said her appointment was canceled because of threats to her saftey after sharing her story on social media.
She said it was heartbreaking to have to answer questions about her pregnancy when she was in public.
“As soon as she came out, I was like, no, I need to be the one that comforts her,” she told the outlet. “That was definitely hard because you definitely do get attached, no matter what, no matter how hard you try to tell yourself, I know what’s going to happen. I know the outcome.”
Laila was unable to breathe correctly, and Chloe was told not to feed her because she could choke. It was clear that Laila would not live long. She was transferred to hospice care.
“She was alive for about 44 hours, which it was definitely hard to watch her just be in pain the whole entire time,” Chloe said, adding, “It’s like I was trying to keep her from feeling this pain, and she still had to feel it.”
In the weeks after giving birth, Chloe suffered from anxiety and depressive disorder as well as postpartum depression.
Looking back, she still feels immense sadness. “It’s not fair, and it wasn’t fair from the beginning, to her or to me,” Chloe said. “If I could have terminated, I would have.”
source: people.com
