Noah McCrory
Texas radio host Ryan Hamilton’s world was shattered last month when his wife told him she was suffering a miscarriage at nearly 13 weeks of pregnancy and that the fetus no longer had a heartbeat.
But for Hamilton and his wife, the nightmare was just beginning.
Medical records reviewed by CBS News show that Hamilton’s wife, who asked not to be identified, was treated at a branch of the Surepoint Emergency Center near their North Texas home. There, doctors confirmed that the fetus – her second child – had no heartbeat, according to records. His wife was prescribed drug misoprostol, which induces labor and is used for both miscarriages and abortions. Hamilton says doctors told them the medication might need to be repeated, so they were prescribed a refill.
Starting treatment for miscarriage
“We were told that she could take a medication that would start the process to finish… to finish what she had already started at home,” an emotional Hamilton told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca in an interview with “CBS Mornings.” which aired on Tuesday.
Hamilton said doctors referred to this as terminating the pregnancy.
“Nobody uses the word abortion right now,” he said. “Nobody said that word.”
Misoprostol is often prescribed after a miscarriage to help a woman’s body expel fetal tissue from the uterus, which could cause a potentially fatal infection.
Hamilton said that after his wife took the first round of misoprostol, it became clear that the dose of the medication wasn’t working, so he went to the pharmacy to get the refill so she could start the next round of the medication.
When the second round failed, Hamilton called the Surepoint Emergency Center and explained that the medication wasn’t working. His wife returned to the medical center, where Hamilton said a different doctor told her he could not give her another refill to continue the process.
“She comes back and the doctor says, ‘Due to the current situation, I can’t prescribe this medication for you,’” Hamilton said, adding that the only word to describe what he was feeling at that moment was “fury.”
Abortion Laws in Texas
The only explanation Hamilton could think of was that this doctor thought current Texas state laws prevented this. Texas bans abortions at about six weeks unless there is a medical exception for a pregnancy that threatens the life or health of the mother in a way that would result in “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.” according to the law.
The Texas Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to the state’s abortion ban due to medical exemptions, ruling that “Texas law allows a doctor to address the risk that a life-threatening condition poses before a woman suffers the consequences of that risk.” Doctors convicted of performing an illegal abortion can face fines of up to $100,000 and even prison time.
Surepoint Emergency Center declined CBS News’ request for comment on Hamilton’s situation, citing patient confidentiality and HIPAA laws.
The couple was devastated and confused.
“You start thinking about the women who have to drive across state lines. We hear these stories. And you — just as a husband, you think, ‘Is this what we’re going to have to do?'” Hamilton wondered.
“Doctors are scared”
Hamilton tried to maintain his composure in front of his wife.
“You want to panic, but you can’t,” he told Villafranca. “What are we going to do? Leave the baby inside her so she can get an infection? Get sepsis that could kill her?”
The pair left the Surepoint Emergency Center and drove to another hospital about an hour away, where she was assessed for about four hours. Doctors again confirmed the tragic news that there was no fetal heartbeat. Hamilton asked CBS News not to name the second hospital.
“I think the delay is their confusion about what they can do. That’s how they feel. They’re scared. The doctors are scared,” Hamilton explained of the hours-long visit.
Doctors told Hamilton that it was not enough in an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage — a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.
Under Texas law, abortion is illegal when a fetal heartbeat is detected, with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law does not require there to be a medical emergency to perform a D&C if there is no cardiac activity, as in Hamilton’s case.
“The conversation is not about what’s best for my wife. The conversation is on the hospital’s side: ‘What should we do?'” Hamilton said.
“This really happens”
Doctors chose to give Hamilton’s wife a higher dose of misoprostol and sent her home for the third time.
In a statement, the hospital told CBS News it follows state and federal laws in accordance with national standards of care.
“We provide training and education to our employed providers to ensure they understand any changes in applicable laws relating to patient care. Medical care for all patients is determined by the treating physician based on clinical indications. D&Cs and medications are treatments that providers may use based on the patient’s condition and the healthcare professional’s clinical judgment generally do not require Ethics Committee review,” the hospital’s statement read, in part.
Shortly after returning home, Hamilton remembered playing with his 9-month-old daughter when he noticed a missed call from his wife. He found her unconscious in the bathroom surrounded by blood. He carried her to the car and rushed to the emergency room.
“I got to the hospital, I ran inside, I told them what was happening. And they took her in. And you know what they said? ‘Thank God, you brought her in,'” he recalled angrily, adding that at one point he thought You may lose your wife.
Doctors told the couple that the third dose of misoprostol was a success. Eventually, she was stable and the pair were able to return home. But the painful process of losing their son is something that will stay with them forever.
“I want people to know that this really happens. My fear is that stories like ours will continue to be told and not believed,” Hamilton said. “All she needs to do in her life right now to get better is not just a reminder of the baby we lost, it’s a reminder of what they put her through, and she has to do that every day.”
Omar Villafranca
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