A new Louisiana law was designed to limit reproductive rights in the state. But the pill it restricts is key to the survival of patients experiencing miscarriages or giving birth.
In 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Louisiana’s so-called trigger law immediately went into effect, banning abortion in the state. In the years since, lawmakers have taken steps to further limit reproductive rights. As of October 1, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to categorize misoprostol and mifepristone, which are used in medication abortions, as Schedule IV drugs that must be kept under lock and key.
Pregnancy complications, most often during delivery and miscarriage, can trigger critical, excessive bleeding. That bleeding, postpartum hemorrhage, is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. But now, medications that can swiftly stop postpartum hemorrhage have been removed from patients’ bedsides, delaying doctors’ ability to use them in emergency situations.
THE LENS SAT DOWN WITH a pregnant, 38-year-old New Orleans woman to talk about the risk of living in Louisiana in the post-Roe era.
Though she has had two miscarriages, she feels a bit more relaxed that her current pregnancy is further along. But she worries if something goes wrong during delivery, or a miscarriage, that life-saving drugs will be further away from her doctors.
She asked that her full name not be used. The interview is printed here, as told to reporter Marta Jewson, and has been edited for clarity.
We moved to New Orleans 13 years ago. I came first, on a girls’ trip. He was graduating from college. We were talking about moving someplace and I called him the second day I was here and told him we should move here. He got a job here and his job brought us here — it was my master plan. I work in a salon.
I started talking about this openly because I feel like so many people are unaware, especially people who don’t live in the South or in states that are doing these kinds of things.
We waited a while after we were married until the time felt right. We had our first kiddo in March of 2022. We had a miscarriage before that. That was really hard. But we kind of always knew we would probably want a second child. In April of this year, we decided that we wanted to have another kid.
During my first pregnancy, we were here. Everything was a little weird with that one. It was super surprising. I had had some bleeding, I wasn’t sure if it was a period or not. Then I got a positive test. Because I’d started bleeding again two weeks later. I’d gotten an ovulation test at a weird time that came back positive.
So I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. But everything was very questionable, kind of from the jump. So I contacted my OB and they had me come in for a test and it showed I was miscarrying. I was very lucky it happened at home. But we’d been trying very hard to have a baby, so it was just really tough mentally.
After they got the final test saying my levels (of hCG, the pregnancy hormone) were lowering, I definitely wasn’t going to have a viable pregnancy. They told me to wait it out at home since I was already bleeding. I was lucky enough that it did just happen at home over the course of a week.
Our son
With my son, I was watching the calendar pretty closely and we were actually in Connecticut for a wedding. My husband was going back to New Orleans before I was, and I was like half a day late. I was like “well I’m just going to take a test just in case.” I was so convinced I wasn’t pregnant – and sure enough we got a positive test.
My son is two now. Oh god he’s just so funny. He thinks he’s funny, which is my favorite thing. Like he knows he’s being funny. And he’s singing a lot, which is super cute. He’s starting to get interested in what he wants to listen to and having more true hobbies and interests which is very fun.
He loves to drum. He loves trucks. And he loves to cook too – he loves to help. We made muffins yesterday, he makes scrambled eggs on the weekends.
The second one was a little bit harder to decide upon. These days just having a kid, the logistical stuff makes it hard to make that decision – like money and space and time. Once we checked all those things off and decided we really wanted to do it, the new laws in Louisiana made it a very very hard decision.
It makes it scary and dangerous. It made us really question if we should move to another state or if we should even have another kid. It’s like every day something changes.
In the early days we were just more worried if something wasn’t right, if (Louisiana’s) laws would allow us to get proper care here or if we would have to go out of state.
If they would change the laws, that I could end up in jail for going out of state. It made all those things very scary.
Miscarriages – then pregnancy
With my first miscarriage, three years ago, I grieved. Which I think is the healthy thing to do. I truly grieved.
With this one, my second miscarriage, earlier this year, I was just so relieved that I didn’t have to have any medical intervention that I couldn’t even grieve.
I honestly had nothing but relief.
I think I cried maybe five minutes about it.
With my first miscarriage and with my second I was so grateful for my friends and family that had been open about their miscarrying experiences to know that I wasn’t alone. I think it’s really important to talk to one another and be open about these things because it’s ok to have these feelings.
Now that I’ve finally started talking about it more openly — and I was so afraid to for so long just because I didn’t want to jinx anything — I wanted to get past the 12-week mark.
Once I got past the first trimester and genetics tests and all that, I thought I’d feel a lot better. But now they’re talking about pulling things from carts that could be life-saving in a dangerous situation at my birth. Or god forbid something go wrong earlier than that.
It’s been a lot more anxiety provoking and stressful. And it’s definitely taken away from the joys and worry-free things that I had in my first pregnancy.
Pregnancy in this political climate
I think abortion is healthcare for everyone. But I think people only think about unwanted pregnancies. It’s really awful that people like myself have to worry about this when we really want to have kids.
Women that are trying to get pregnant or are pregnant, talk to your providers and make sure you’re going to get proper care. I’ve been very fortunate that mine have all promised that I’ll get the proper care.
I also think it’s important to know the laws and what they mean and stay aware. And fight for our reproductive freedoms.
Please vote.
And talk to your doctors — I don’t want to discourage someone from not getting pregnant. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my entire life. I love being pregnant. I love having a family. I don’t want to discourage anyone from it, just really make sure you know the laws, do your research and talk to your providers.