HOUSTON — A young Houston woman’s death has put an increased focus on Texas's abortion laws just days before the general election.
On Wednesday, investigative news outlet ProPublica published the story of Josseli Barnica.
According to the report, the 28-year-old Houston mother was 17 weeks pregnant with her second child when she suffered a miscarriage. However, when she got to the HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest, Josseli was reportedly denied life-saving treatment.
“She was told that it would be a crime for doctors to intervene until the fetal heartbeat stopped,” ProPublica reporter Kavitha Surana said.
Surana said that Josseli’s case fell into a “gray area” under the Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8. According to the report, Josseli was admitted to the hospital on Sept. 3, 2021. The Heartbeat Act went into effect just a few days earlier on Sept. 1, 2021. Josseli reportedly had to wait 40 hours for the fetal heartbeat to stop before doctors sped up delivery. She died from an infection three days later, according an autopsy.
“Maternal health experts told us those causes of death should be rare in the 21st century,” Surana said.
The reporting of Josseli’s death has drawn outage from Democratic lawmakers in the past 48 hours.
On Thursday, U.S. Rep Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) held an event with maternal care doctors to condemn what she called Texas’s cruel abortion law. Fletcher is running for reelection in Texas’s 7th congressional district.
“We’re hearing from their doctors that they can’t care for their patients as they have been trained to do, and it’s only getting worse,” she said.
In a statement, U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Colin Alred (D-TX) claimed his opponent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was to blame for Josseli’s death.
“My heart breaks for the Barnica family. Josseli Barnica should be alive today, but because of Ted Cruz’s cruel abortion ban, Josseli and women across Texas have been denied the life-saving health care they need,” he said. “Ted Cruz is responsible for putting Texas women and families through the unthinkable and stripping away our freedoms. It doesn’t have to be this way and when I’m in the Senate, I will restore Texas women’s freedoms.”
While Cruz didn't respond to a KHOU 11 News request for comment, he did react to Josseli's death at an event Wednesday in Georgetown. Cruz said the story was heartbreaking but asserted Texas law was not to blame.
“I’ve read the story here, and the facts of the case seem heartbreaking. That this woman lost her life is truly a tragedy,” he said. “The Texas law makes clear that any procedure that is necessary to save the life of a mother can be done and should be done. We don’t know all the details of what happened here, but it is critical that we do everything necessary to save the lives of moms and we grieve with the family at the tragedy that occurred here.”
Speaking to KHOU 11, Amy O'Donnell with pro-life organization Texas Alliance for Life said Texas's abortion law allows for exceptions when a mother's life is at risk.
"Why her doctors were misinformed we don’t know, but the law was not to blame for her death," she said.
In Texas, abortion is prohibited in most cases with very limited exceptions. According to the law, an abortion is allowed if a pregnant woman “has a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places the female at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”
According to a survey from the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, only 7% of likely Texas voters said abortion was a top issue influencing their choice for president. However, political experts tell KHOU 11 that Josseli’s story could impact some Democratic-leaning voters.
“Abortion remains a potential lever or tool for Democrats to use to mobile voters who are on the fence about showing up to vote or staying home,” said Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist and Hobby School senior research associate.