Several women took the stand in an Idaho courtroom Tuesday to testify about their illegal pregnancies. lawsuit filed by women Those who cannot have an abortion due to the state’s total ban.

Rebecca Vincen-Brown tearfully described delivering her pregnancy in a hotel room bathroom after driving seven hours to abortion care in Portland, Oregon. On the first day of the two-day abortion, she spent her pregnancy in the next room with her other child, she testified at the hearing.

Pregnant with her second child, Vincen-Brown discovered at her 16-week anatomy scan that her fetus had several fatal fetal conditions and was unlikely to survive. Doctors also said there were risks to her life and health if she went ahead with the pregnancy, including preeclampsia, bleeding, a high risk of miscarriage and risks to fertility.

Vincen-Brown testified that she started experiencing labor contractions in her hotel room and gave birth hours later, but did not go to the emergency room.

“We didn’t have insurance to cover that because we were out of state. We didn’t have a car because our car was locked out on the street at a hotel valet, and so that wasn’t necessarily an option for us,” Vincen-Brown said while testifying about why she didn’t go to the emergency room.

“In the morning, a few people from the clinic came to our hotel room, took the baby from the bath, then helped me clean up, and then they went to the clinic and completed the procedure,” Vincen said. Brown testified.

Early in the hearing, the state’s attorneys argued that Idaho case law lacks protection for reproductive rights.

Having an abortion alone

Jillaine St. Michel, one of the plaintiffs in the case, described calling more than 20 out-of-state clinics to obtain abortion care after she was given a terminal fetal diagnosis.

“It was the worst four days of my life. I can’t put it any other way. I had no chance of survival because I knew I was carrying a doomed pregnancy. Each day was worse than the last. And so would I. Let’s just say my mental health got progressively worse during those four days,” she said. St. Michel.

At her 20-week ultrasound, St. Michel was told that her fetus had several serious developmental and chromosomal disorders affecting multiple organ systems and was unlikely to survive. She traveled to Seattle, where she underwent a two-day abortion procedure.

“Since we had to travel with my toddler, my husband had to stay at the hotel with him and take care of him, so I had to attend the appointment alone on both Friday and Saturday,” St. Michel said.

St. Michel, a 38-year-old chiropractor, and his family have since moved to Blaine, Minnesota. The family was living in Meridian, Idaho, at the time the lawsuit was filed.

“Knowing what I went through, knowing what state representatives decided is acceptable reproductive care for women. I can’t imagine my daughter and my son would receive those kinds of messages,” St. Michel said.

“I want women to have the belief that they can make decisions about their health care. I want my daughter to feel safe about getting pregnant one day if she wants to, and I don’t think that will be the case if we do get pregnant. This is where we are raising our children,” St. Michel said.

leave the state

At a routine ultrasound appointment during the 19th week of her pregnancy, Kayla Smith discovered that her fetus had many anomalies, including several heart defects. Experts informed Smith and her husband that their son would, at best, need a heart transplant before age 4 or 5, but that this would be a temporary solution for about 10 years.

Smith stated that due to some heart defects, the lung vessels do not flow properly and this can directly affect the lungs.

“If I went ahead with the pregnancy, not only would I be risking my life from developing preeclampsia, but I also would not be willing to watch her suffer and gasp for air,” Smith said.

Smith and her husband drove more than eight hours to Washington University Hospital for induction. They were given an estimate of $16,000 to $20,000 for the cost of the procedure.

Smith stated that they took out a personal loan to cover the costs of the procedure.

Smith, her husband and two children moved their family to Washington. They plan to stay there if Idaho’s abortion ban continues.

Multiple fatal fetal conditions

St. Michel took the stand after Jennifer Adkins, another Idaho woman who had to travel out of state to terminate a pregnancy she was unlikely to survive after being diagnosed with multiple illnesses.

Adkins was like this one in 18 women He was interviewed by ABC News about the impact of abortion bans.

Adkins’ doctors said that at the 12-week ultrasound, the scan revealed that the fetus had excess fluid and skin edema (signs of cystic hygroma) and that the fetus likely had Turner syndrome. X chromosomes are missing.

Adkins was told that her fetus likely would not survive and that she was likely to develop Mirror syndrome, a condition in which the pregnant person may develop fluid buildup and preeclampsia, resulting in paralysis or death.

Four women and doctors who sued the state will testify in court on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of the ongoing case. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, the lawsuit seeks to “clarify and expand medical exceptions to two abortion bans in Idaho to ensure that doctors can provide abortion care to protect the health and safety of a pregnant person, including in cases of fatal fetal diagnosis.” filed a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was filed on September 11, 2023, to challenge Idaho’s total abortion ban and its six-week ban. Idaho’s complete ban on abortion allows the procedure only to prevent death.

Idaho is one of 13 states to halt nearly all abortion services since the U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade overturns his case In June 2022.