Texas radio host Ryan Hamilton's world was shattered last month when his wife told him she was suffering a miscarriage at nearly 13 weeks pregnant and the fetus no longer had a heartbeat.
But for Hamilton and his wife, the nightmare was just beginning.
Medical records reviewed by CBS News show that Hamilton's wife, who asked not to be named, was treated at a Surepoint emergency center branch near her North Texas home. There, doctors confirmed that the fetus, her second child, did not have a heartbeat, records show. His wife was prescribed drug misoprostol, which induces labor and is used for both miscarriages and abortions. Hamilton says doctors told them the medication might need to be repeated, so they were prescribed a refill.
Start treatment for miscarriage
“We were told that he could take a drug that would start the process to finish … to finish what he had already started at home,” an emotional Hamilton told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca in an interview for ” CBS Mornings” that aired Tuesday.
Hamilton said doctors referred to this as terminating the pregnancy.
“Nobody uses the word abortion right now,” he said. “Nobody said that word.”
Misoprostol is often prescribed after a miscarriage to help a woman's body expel fetal tissue from the uterus, which could otherwise cause a life-threatening infection.
Hamilton said that after his wife took the first round of misoprostol, it was clear the dose of the drug wasn't working, so she went to the pharmacy to get a refill so she could start the next round of the drug.
When the second round failed, Hamilton called Surepoint's emergency center and explained that the drug wasn't working. His wife went back to the medical center, where Hamilton says a different doctor told her they couldn't give her another refill to continue the process.
“She comes back and the doctor says, 'Because of the current position, I can't prescribe you this medicine,'” Hamilton said, adding that the only word to describe what she was feeling at that moment was “fury.”
Texas Abortion Laws
The only explanation Hamilton could think of was that this doctor thought current Texas state laws prevented it. Texas bans abortion around six weeks unless there is a medical exception for a pregnancy that threatens the life or health of the mother in a way that results in “substantial impairment of an important bodily function” . according to the law
The Supreme Court of Texas recently declined a challenge to the state's abortion ban on medical exemptions, ruling that “Texas law allows a physician to address the risk posed by a life-threatening condition before a woman suffers the consequences of that risk” . Doctors convicted of performing an illegal abortion could face fines of up to $100,000 and even jail time.
Surepoint Emergency Center declined CBS News' request for comment on Hamilton's situation, citing patient confidentiality and HIPAA laws.
The couple was left devastated and confused.
“You start thinking about the women who have to drive across state lines. We've heard those stories. And you, as a husband, say, 'Is this what we're going to have to do?'” Hamilton wondered.
“Doctors are afraid”
Hamilton tried to keep his composure for his wife.
“You want to panic, but you can't,” he told Villafranca. “What are we going to do? Leave the baby inside her so she can get an infection? Have sepsis that can kill her?”
The couple left Surepoint's emergency center and went to another hospital an hour away, where they were evaluated for about four hours. Doctors again confirmed the tragic news that there was no fetal heartbeat. Hamilton asked CBS News not to name the second hospital.
“I think the delay is their confusion about what they're allowed to do. That's what it feels like. They feel scared. The doctors feel scared,” Hamilton explained of the hours-long visit.
Doctors told Hamilton it wasn't enough of an emergency to perform a D&C, also known as a dilation and curettage, a surgical procedure to remove fetal tissue inside the uterus, used for both miscarriages and abortions.
Under Texas law, abortions are illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detected with exceptions for medical emergencies. The law does not require that there be a medical emergency to perform a D&C if there is no heart activity, as in Hamilton's case.
“The conversation is not the best for my wife. The conversation is in the hospital, 'What should we do?'” Hamilton said.
“This really happens”
Doctors opted to give the Hamilton woman a higher dose of misoprostol and sent her home for a third time.
In a statement, the hospital told CBS News it follows state and federal laws in accordance with national standards of care.
“We provide training and education to our employed providers to ensure they understand any changes in applicable laws related to patient care. Medical care for all patients is determined by the treating physician based on clinical indications. D&Cs and medications are treatments that providers may use based on the patient's condition and the provider's clinical judgment generally does not require Ethics Committee review,” the hospital's statement said in part.
Shortly after returning home, Hamilton remembered playing with his 9-month-old daughter when he noticed a missed call from his wife. He found her unconscious in the bathroom, covered in blood. He carried her to the car and rushed to the emergency room.
“I got to the hospital, I ran inside, I told them what was going on. And they took her in. And you know what they said? 'Thank God, you brought her in,'” he recalled angrily, adding that in a moment he thought. he might lose his wife.
Doctors told the couple that the third round of misoprostol was successful. He was eventually stabilized and the couple was able to return home. But the painful process of losing their child is something that will stay with them forever.
“I want people to know that this really happens. My fear is that stories like ours will continue to be told and not believed,” Hamilton said. “Everything she has to do in her life now to get better is not just a reminder of the baby we lost, it's a reminder of what they put her through, and she has to do that every day.”
Omar Villafranca
