Brittany Harper and her husband knew they wanted a third baby. Last fall, they decided it was time – and, within a month, she was pregnant. After some high blood pressure readings and spotting early on, she visited her Omaha OB-GYN’s office for a routine test.
When Harper shared that she had some additional spotting, Dr. Annie Leishman-Barb ordered an ultrasound. It revealed a complication that can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.
Amid the flood of emotion and information, there was another hard truth: Harper, 11 weeks and four days into her pregnancy, was bumping up against Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban. A couple days later, a specialist told her there was an 80% chance that her baby wouldn’t make it. The news was “devastating,” Harper said.
She felt angry and “hung out to dry,” she said, during one of her family’s most trying moments. “Can we have a senator come sit in this doctor’s office with me and watch us cry and weep over finding out all of this information?” Harper said. “Like, you tell me what you think is best for me and my family and my body.
” The Flatwater Free Press spoke with 11 doctors specializing in pregnancy and childbirth-related fields to learn if the state’s 12-week ban has affected their work since it became law a year ago. Nearly all said it has changed how they care for patients. Some physicians reported an uptick in patients seeking contraception and sterilization.
Others said they’ve had to send patients out of stat.
