Texas Teen Suffering Miscarriage Dies Days After Baby Shower Due to Abortion Ban as Mom Begs Doctors to 'Do Something'

Mar. 15, 2025

A Texas teen died after the state’s ban on abortion stopped her from getting life-saving medical care while experiencing pregnancy complications.

After testing, Crain was diagnosed with strep throat. The teen was also experiencing abdominal pain, in addition to vomiting, but her pregnancy was not evaluated. She was discharged and prescribed antibiotics.

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In the middle of the night, Crain woke up her mother, Candace Fails, complaining of intense stomach pains, according to the outlet. Fails drove her daughter to a different hospital, where an OB-GYN reported that she had a fever of 102.8 and a high pulse. She was showing signs of sepsis.

Sepsis is “a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection," according to theMayo Clinic. It can lead to septic shock and death. In a typical year, at least 1.7 million adults in the U.S. develop sepsis, and nearly 270,000 die from the infection, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nevaeh Marie Crain.gofundme

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“It’s bulls—,” Fails said, per the outlet, as Crain had to be taken home in a wheelchair because she was unable to walk.

Medical staff started Crain on IV antibiotics and the OB-GYN on duty also reported that she couldn’t find a fetal heartbeat at the time. Fails told the outlet that a half hour later, she noticed her daughter’s thighs were covered in blood.

“Do something,” Fails pleaded with doctors.

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The near-total ban onabortion in Texasmeant that the doctors couldn’t do anything to remove the unviable fetus unless Crain’s life was at risk. She would either have to get sick enough for doctors to intervene, or miscarry on her own.

“Pretty consistently, people say, ‘Until we can be absolutely certain this isn’t a normal pregnancy, we can’t do anything, because it could be alleged that we were doing an abortion,’” Dr. Tony Ogburn, an OB-GYN in San Antonio, told ProPublica.

Eventually, doctors performed a second ultrasound to “confirm fetal demise” more than two hours after Crain arrived at the hospital. At that point, Crain was unable to sign consent forms due to “extreme pain,” so Fails quickly signed a release to allow her daughter to undergo an “unplanneddilation and curettage” or “unplanned cesarean section.”

Fails recalled her daughter sitting up in the hospital bed as black blood ran from her mouth and nostrils, telling her, “You’re strong, Nevaeh. God made us strong.”

Crain died hours later in the intensive care unit.

ProPublica reviewed more than 800 pages of Crain’s medical records and consulted with medical experts, who said that if the teen received proper care she might have survived.

source: people.com