Tennessee law prohibits women from having abortions in nearly all circumstances. But once the babies are here, the state provides little help. We followed one family as they struggled to make it.

In the midst of the turmoil in July 2022, they learned Mayron was pregnant again. But this time, doctors warned she and her fetus might not survive.

The embryo had been implanted in scar tissue from her recent cesarean section. There was a high chance that the embryo could rupture, blowing open her uterus and killing her, or that she could bleed to death during delivery. The baby could come months early and face serious medical risks, or even die.

Tennessee already had some of the worst outcomes in the nation when measuring maternal health, infant mortality and child poverty. Lawmakers who paved the way for a new generation of post-Roe births did little to bolster the state’s meager safety net to support these babies and their families.

  • @[email protected]
    27•9 months ago

    This was such a hard read, because the way the story was told always made me feel that with the right help, this family could get okay.

    • @RedditWanderer
      32•9 months ago

      The right help was abortion, because we sure as fuck know that there aren’t any fallbacks once born.

      People know this and take the responsible choice of terminating the pregnancy, except the “small conservative government” needs uneducated slaves.