DALLAS — At almost 19 weeks, Elizabeth Weller’s water broke.
“No matter what, when my baby left my body, she would die immediately,” Weller said doctors told her. “There was nothing that anybody could do.”
The University of Houston grad student told her story during a press conference Thursday, which was held by Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Beto O’Rourke.
Thursday also marked the day Texas’ trigger laws officially took effect.
Doctors told Weller her amniotic sac had burst, she said. But due to Texas’ trigger laws, she didn’t have many options moving forward.
“They sent me home to wait for either my baby to die or for me to incur an infection, in which case, I was left to gamble with my life and the health of my uterus,” Weller said.
26-year-old Claire, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, also spoke Thursday at O’Rourke’s press conference.
“These trigger laws don’t just affect people seeking abortions: They affect people fighting cancer. They affect people with chronic pain."
She said she takes methotrexate to treat her rheumatoid arthritis, a drug that’s also used to induce abortions.
“Some of us are even being denied our prescriptions by doctors and hospitals and pharmacies that fear potential repercussions from states like Texas,” she said.
In a statement, CVS told WFAA: We’ve educated our Texas pharmacy teams about Texas law and its requirements and expect them to comply as they would with any other state regulation. We encourage providers to include their diagnosis on the prescriptions they write to help ensure patients have quick and easy access to medications.
Those against abortion celebrated Thursday.
“This is a historic time for the pro-life movement,” Kimberlyn Schwartz with Texas Right to Life said.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Schwartz told WFAA that Texas Right to Life estimates 10,000 babies have been saved from abortion.
“The trigger law builds upon what we already have: It makes abortion a felony for illegal abortions,” Schwartz said.
She told WFAA the goal is to expand “the Texas Heartbeat Act to apply to all abortions. So that way, private citizens also can hold abortionists accountable if they break the law.”