Who was Nevaeh Crain? Texas abortion ban kills teen after she was refused life-saving medical care

A Texas teen tragically lost her life after she was stopped from getting life-saving medical care due to the state’s ban on abortion. Nevaeh Crain, 18, was reportedly experiencing pregnancy complications.

Crain woke up with a headache on October 28, 2023, a day before her baby shower. The six-month pregnant woman soon developed a fever, which was followed by vomiting and nausea. She kept struggling through her baby shower before her family decided to take her to the emergency room by 3 pm, ProPublica reported.

Randall Broussard, Crain’s boyfriend, drove her to a nearby hospital, but her pain did not end there. They had to sit in the waiting room for four hours with a plastic pan the staff gave Crain, as she continued to vomit.

Crain eventually got tested, and was diagnosed with strep throat. Besides vomiting, she was also experiencing abdominal pain, but she was soon discharged and prescribed antibiotics without her pregnancy being evaluated.

Crain woke her mother up late at night, saying she was experiencing extreme stomach pains. Her mom, Candace Fails, drove her to a different hospital where they were informed by an OB-GYN that she had a fever of 102.8 and a high pulse, and was even showing signs of sepsis.

Crain had to be given IV fluids and antibiotics for two hours, but her condition just continued to worsen. She also had a urinary tract infection.

A nurse checked and confirmed that Crain’s baby had a heartbeat, and so she was discharged. She was prescribed more antibiotics.

“It’s bulls---,” Fails said. Crain, who was unable to walk, was taken home in a wheelchair.

Crain cried in pain the next morning and had to be rushed back to the hospital by 9 am. She was experiencing heavy bleeding and suffering a miscarriage. 

Crain was given antibiotics, with the OB-GYN on duty saying a foetal heartbeat could not be found. Fails said that she noticed shortly after that Crain’s thighs were covered in blood. 

“Do something,” Fails begged the doctors.

In Texas, the near-total ban on abortion would not allow doctors to remove the unviable foetus unless Crain's life was at risk. There were two options – she would either have to get too sick so the doctors would intervene, or miscarry on her own.

“Pretty consistently, people say, ‘Until we can be absolutely certain this isn’t a normal pregnancy, we can’t do anything, because it could be alleged that we were doing an abortion,’” Dr. Tony Ogburn, an OB-GYN in San Antonio, said.

Doctors performed a second ultrasound to “confirm fetal demise” over two hours after Crain came to the hospital. The teen was not even able to sign consent forms at the time due to “extreme pain.” Her mother then signed a release to allow her to undergo an “unplanned dilation and curettage” or “unplanned cesarean section.”

Doctors, however, believed performing the procedure in that situation was too dangerous. They suspected Crain had developed a dangerous complication of sepsis called disseminated intravascular coagulation, and had started to bleed internally.

Fails said she saw her daughter sitting in the hospital bed, black blood running from her nostrils and mouth. “You’re strong, Nevaeh. God made us strong,” Fails told her daughter.

Hours later, Crain died in the intensive care unit. Medical experts believe she could have been said with proper care. 

‘Pregnant women have become essentially untouchables’

After Crain died, Fails has been seeking legal action to hold the hospitals accountable. Under Texas law, however, emergency care cases require plaintiffs to prove "willful and wanton negligence" by hospitals. Fails has not been able to find an attorney to take her case.

Sara Rosenbaum, a health and law police professor emerita at George Washington University, said following the case that Crain was not saved because she was a pregnant woman in a Republican state that has strict abortion laws. “Pregnant women have become essentially untouchables,” Rosenbaum said.

“Am I being sent home because I really am OK? " Dr Jodi Abbott, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University School of Medicine, said. "Or am I being sent home because they’re afraid that the solution to what’s going on with my pregnancy would be ending the pregnancy, and they’re not allowed to do that?”

Health providers at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas and Christus Southeast Texas St Elizabeth, where Crain received treatment, have not issued any statement on the incident.

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