“My womb becomes a tomb”: South Carolina woman forced to carry dead fetus for weeks due to strict abortion laws

A South Carolina woman has gone public with her emotional and medical experience, alleging she was refused lifesaving medical care after suffering from fetal loss, as a result of the state's restrictive abortion law. The woman, Elisabeth Weber, reports being required to carry a nonviable fetus for weeks, even though there was no heartbeat, because doctors were unwilling to deliver treatment within the limitations of the "heartbeat bill." Her experience illustrates how such legislation could accidentally delay necessary medical treatment for women with pregnancy loss.Elisabeth Weber, a 31-year-old mother of three from South Carolina, said that she was close to ten weeks pregnant when her doctor told her her fetus did not have a heartbeat anymore.She went in right away and asked for a dilation and curettage (D&C), a procedure applied to extract fetal tissue from the uterus following miscarriage or abortion.Even though the fetus was not viable, Weber was said to have been refused the procedure on the grounds that medical staff feared breaking the heartbeat law."My baby has been sitting inside me dead for three weeks already," Weber posted on an Instagram video. "And now I have to wait another week knowing my baby is dead to do anything about it."Weber has Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), a serious pregnancy complication that results in severe nausea and vomiting. While the fetus had ceased to grow, Weber's body still reacted as if she were pregnant, leading to ongoing illness and physical decline."My body wasn't realizing that I wasn't pregnant anymore. I was still totally bedridden with nausea, vomiting all the time," she explained. "The baby hadn't developed at all. There is still no heartbeat. At that point, I was nearly 10 weeks pregnant."Weber also complained of frustration at being questioned about whether her pregnancy was "wanted," implying that such questioning was directed at ascertaining the lawfulness of providing care, and not her healthcare needs.Weber has had deep-seated grief in the past, having lost her infant son in 2018 to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She now has three daughters—Neveah, Story, and Finley. The psychological trauma of having a dead fetus, added to her background of loss and continued physical illness, has had a lasting effect.“I can’t believe that I’m being forced to carry around my dead baby. They know it’s gone, they know it’s dead, they know it’s stopped developing. There's really no feeling like when your womb becomes a tomb,” she said.Weber's account has attracted nationwide attention, as reproductive rights advocates have pointed to her case as proof of the unintended damage of overly broad abortion bans. Her account has spread widely on media like Instagram and TikTok, where she has chronicled her experience in real-time. Those against the heartbeat bill contend that instances like these portray a perilous intersection of medicine and politics under which legal confusion and fear of prosecution discourage doctors from making effective, life-sustaining medical decisions in time.Medical workers, legal observers, and feminist groups have affirmed the necessity of clearer legislative terms that permit effective and humane care in miscarriages and fetal demise.South Carolina's "Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act," the so-called heartbeat bill, took effect in 2021. The act prohibits all but extremely rare abortions once fetal cardiac activity is identified, usually around six weeks into the pregnancy. Exceptions are provided, but only on a very tight basis, in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is threatened.Yet, critics contend that the ambiguous language of the law and harsh legal sanctions have a chilling effect. Healthcare providers might be reluctant to provide timely treatment in cases of miscarriage or fetal death because of fear of legal repercussions—even when fetal viability is no longer an issue.Also Read | American woman amazed by midnight delivery services in India, internet reacts: 'I’m surprised it’s not available in...'