A Louisiana Mother Said She Was Denied Abortion, Baby Unlikely To Survive Due To Rare Condition: ‘I’m Carrying It To Burry It’

A Louisiana mother said she was denied an abortion even though doctors had determined her baby would not survive after birth due to a rare medical condition.

Baby With Acrania A Fatal Condition

On Monday, Nancy Davis of Baton Rouge, La., told local station WAFB-TV that doctors diagnosed her baby with acrania, a fatal condition in which a baby's skull does not form in the womb and leads to an infant's death anywhere between minutes to hours after birth.

It was an abnormal ultrasound, and they noticed the top of the baby's head was missing, and the skull was missing; Davis, who is 13 weeks pregnant, told WAFB-TV of her first ultrasound three weeks ago. The top of the skull was missing.

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Nancy Davis Denied An Abortion

Because the pregnancy did not pose a danger to Davis' life and acrania does not fall under the Louisiana Department of Health's qualifying conditions for abortion, Davis was denied an abortion, according to WAFB-TV.

Now, Davis told WAFB-TV she must decide whether to carry the pregnancy to term, knowing her baby will not survive or cross state lines to seek an abortion in Florida or North Carolina.

It's a baby that's not going to be compatible with life, Davis said on Monday. These babies either die stillborn or a couple of minutes later. It's hard knowing that, you know, I'm carrying it to bury it, you know what I'm saying? she added.

While WAFB-TV noted that Davis, who has one child, did not take a specific stance on abortion rights, she said that Louisiana state lawmakers need to consider widening the list of conditions that qualify for an abortion. I want them to consider special circumstances related to abortion, Davis told WAFB-TV. Medical problems like this need to be in it.

The List Of The Medical Conditions

The list of medical conditions that qualify for abortion in Louisiana after the state's trigger law resulted in a near-total ban on the procedure in July includes 24 congenital disorders and chromosomal abnormalities, according to The Washington Post and public radio station WWNO.

Also on the list is the following provision for other medical conditions that could allow for abortion: A profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly existing in the unborn child that is incompatible with sustaining life after birth in reasonable medical judgment as certified by two physicians that are legal to practice in the State of Louisiana.

It is unclear why acrania is not included on this list or allowed under the final catch-all provision. The Louisiana Department of Health did not immediately respond to the request for comment Thursday.

Decision From Louisiana Supreme Court And The Maximum Fine

The state's trigger law banning abortion puts abortion providers at risk of being charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 maximum fine, according to The Post.

After the Louisiana Supreme Court backed the law in a decision issued last Friday, the three remaining abortion clinics in the state will relocate elsewhere, leaving Louisiana without any abortion clinics for the first time since 1974, according to WWNO. Carnegie Imaging refers to the prognosis for acrania as uniformly dismal, and related conditions are lethal disorders.

Davis told WAFB-TV that she must decide whether to seek an abortion elsewhere soon since other states have banned abortion after 15 weeks. She added that her family would support her in whatever decision she made. She also said she would be willing to testify before the Louisiana state legislature to advocate further for this issue.