DALLAS — "We were so excited," said Fort Worth native, Danielle Mathisen.
That initial feeling when her pregnancy test turned positive was overwhelming for Mathisen.
"It was really wonderful," she said.
The timing was perfect. The genetic testing showed nothing concerning. And everything seemed to be going well until her 18-week scan.
"It was a total blindside moment," Mathisen said. "I had just finished my ultrasound rotation, so I could read the ultrasound myself as it was happening."
She was in medical school at the time in September 2021. She's now an OB/GYN resident.
Just looking at the ultrasound, she could tell something was wrong.
"I asked one question. I said, 'Is it lethal?' And they said yes," she remembered.
She learned her baby, a girl, had a long list of health problems. She had spina bifida, scoliosis that restricted her lungs, one kidney, poorly-positioned feet, and her hands were stuck in the shape of a heart. But those were the non-deadly problems.
Her daughter also had holoprosencephaly, where her brain was not divided correctly.
"The one that was going to limit her life either minutes out of utero or die in utero was holoprosencephaly," said Mathisen.
The news of her daughter's condition came two weeks after Senate Bill 8 was passed in the State of Texas. Under the law, a healthcare provider cannot give abortions after six weeks of gestation unless the mother's life is in grave danger.
Mathisen could not get an abortion in her home state, even though she knew her baby would not survive.
"I was going to take her home in a box in ashes, and I did not want to put my health in jeopardy for that," she said.
She flew to New Mexico to end her pregnancy.
"I feel really hurt and betrayed by Texas," she said.
Mathisen is one of seven additional women joining the lawsuit challenging the Texas abortion laws.
Rebecca Weaver, Legislative Director for Texas Right to Life, a pro-life organization has been following the case closely.
She said, "Our law does not allow an exception for an abortion in that case. And the thought behind that is every human being born or preborn is worthy of dignity or has inherent dignity and is worthy of legal protection and moral attention. So certainly, those are heartbreaking situations. I don't want to downplay that at all. But the answer is not to end that person's life."
Weaver is optimistic that the law will be upheld when the Texas Supreme Court meets about the case on Nov. 28.
For Mathisen, she never wants another woman to go through what she experienced.
Until things change in Texas, Mathisen will practice as a doctor in another state at a hospital where abortion is allowed.
"Right now, I cannot go home," Mathisen said. "Not being able to provide abortion care is not good medicine."