Travelling to US when pregnant

[Vintagegoth]

Someone I know who is pregnant is travelling to the US, specifically Texas, for several months. I expressed surprise that they would choose to do that considering the mess that is the law around abortion and women's reproductive health in the US at the moment. My husband says IABU. What do people think?

As an American, I find this comment surprising. America is known to have high maternal and foetal death rates as compared to other developed countries. Some quick stats:
Maternal death rate per 100,000

UK - 9.8
US - 21.1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_maternal_mortality_ratio

Foetal death rate per 100,000

UK - 3,800
US - 5,100
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison/

There is good healthcare available for some people in the US, especially if you are white and wealthy. The rates above mask significant inequalities in outcomes based on skin colour.

Hence why the most important issue is excellent health insurance when visiting. Most British people don’t think about this very much because we are used to free (taxpayer funded) healthcare and have never been asked for a credit card to receive care. That’s why you see stories every so often about naïve Brits abroad stranded after holidaying without comprehensive health insurance for their trip.

Good lord, she's traveling to the U.S, not visiting a remote tribe on the amazon. So long as she has adequate medical insurance to cover her during her stay, what's the issue.

The issue is that Texas hospitals will prioritise the life of the baby at all costs, even if that means the mother dies.

She's not travelling there for an abortion right? She wants the baby, she'll be fine.

If the baby is born on us soil isn't it a us citizen?

As someone who worked maternal child health in Tx and it's far worse now, if I was pregnant I would avoid that state like it's a prion disease.

I understand your concern. These cases are not in the US but are relevant

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1lj145jy5zo.amp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Savita_Halappanavar

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44967881.amp This lady wasn’t refused a termination but if one had been suggested and given earlier she may not have died.

It certainly not a choice that I would make particularly for a few months.

The other thing that would concern me was getting into the States at all. You hear of people being turned away from the boarder for minor reasons. If she is not an American I would worry that she could be turned away from the Boarder as it might appear she wants to have her baby there so it would get American Citzenship.

She'll be fine if she doesn't end up in hospital or with complications.

If she does, well, all bets are off. The baby will be the priority, even if that means she's left brain dead as an incubator, or she's allowed to die simply because the baby still has a heartbeat, even if it's not a viable pregnancy.

I agree with you, OP; it's not a risk I would take.

Texas doesn’t. At least twice the maternal mortality of the UK, before these changes. US overall is worse than the UK. Complicated by racism of course. Black women being the most at risk.

https://www.texaswhc.org/activities/texas-maternal-health/

Indeed - US health data needs to be broken down to see whether the patient cohort were affluent enough to have health insurance or relies on Medicaid.

You seem to have totally missed the point.

This. Doctors are too scared to be accused of performing an “abortion” and getting struck off or sent to prison, so they will wait until the woman is at death’s door before they will treat her. Covering their own arses at the expense of pregnant women.

What are the actual chances that something goes wrong (which we all hope it doesn't), and the only solution is a termination?

Quite low right?

I'm American, but live in the UK.

I'd say there are a lot of relevant details missing that could have an impact on whether YABU, and the truth is, you can express concern, but she's going to do what she feels is appropriate.

How far along in the pregnancy is she/will she be while there?
Has she had any complications this far?
Does she have good insurance and/or funds to easily travel to another state should there be non-emergency complications?
Where in Texas is she going - city or rural, if city, which one?
Is she white British?

If it's a healthy pregnancy and she's out of the first trimester but not approaching the last, the odds are she'll be fine.

That said, it's not a choice I'd make.

There's also this
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-abortion-ob-gyn-doctor-training-60-minutes/

Agreed. I'm American and live in the US, and I would not recommend doing this. Women really have been dying from pregnancy complications (not seeking abortion care) in some states with strict abortion laws/bans. The laws are so vague that healthcare providers aren't sure what they legally can and can't do, and it's beginning to become much more difficult to find maternal healthcare in some states, including Texas.

I was just about to say this too. No way would I go there right now.

Insurance can be picky about what Drs they'll cover too. You may arrange a procedure and find it won't be covered, this is particularly common in emerg care, so no I wouldn't go there when pregnant. I was just listening to a podcaster talking about not being covered for an operation even though she had expensive insurance.

Will your friend be purchasing insurance?

@OVienna I have a close friend who lives, not in Texas but another state with a draconian abortion bill, who recently had an ectopic. She was told they basically had to wait for her tube to rupture before they could intervene. Fortunately, she had the ability to travel to another state where she was treated as an emergency and her tube was saved.

The irony of potentially costing women their fertility in these situations is beyond belief.

not really, as it informs the level of care she will receive in the case of emergency.

Fuck me, that is crazy. I had heard rumours of people saying they could reposition an ectopic but a ruptured tube will kill women.

Yes, the chances are low, but the consequences could quite literally be deadly.

Well, totally up to her, of course, but I wouldn't. Maternal healthcare is a shambles right now in most states with abortion bans, and Texas in particular.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/texas-abortion-ban-deaths-pregnant-women-sb8-analysis-rcna171631

I live in the U.S. I am lucky enough to be in a state where abortion is still protected. Wanted pregnancies are now much riskier. In many states doctors have to wait to intervene until a mother is dangerously ill. This is not about a woman’s right to choose abortion. It is about having safe medical care if a pregnancy is not progressing properly and a woman faces losing her fertility or even death.