A woman from Joplin, Missouri, has filed a lawsuit against the University of Kansas Health System and its oversight body after being denied an abortion at a Kansas hospital following a pregnancy complication that put her at risk of sepsis and death. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that the hospital violated federal law and a state anti-discrimination act by refusing to provide necessary medical care.
The woman, Mylissa Farmer, experienced her water breaking at just under 18 weeks gestation. Despite being informed by doctors at two hospitals that her fetus would not survive and that she was at risk of serious infection or losing her uterus, neither facility would terminate the pregnancy due to a detectable fetal heartbeat.
After being turned away without treatment at the University of Kansas Hospital, Farmer sought care at a hospital in Joplin, Missouri, where she was admitted for observation as her health deteriorated. Eventually, she traveled to a clinic in Illinois and underwent an abortion, but suffered a preventable infection due to the prolonged miscarriage.
The lawsuit alleges that the University of Kansas Hospital failed to provide life-saving care, leaving Farmer to endure hours of agonizing labor in her car. As a result of the ordeal, she was unable to work for an extended period, leading to financial hardship and the loss of her home.
The lawsuit highlights the challenges faced by women seeking reproductive healthcare in states with restrictive abortion laws and the impact of political environments on medical decision-making. Farmer's traumatic experience has led her to undergo permanent sterilization, emphasizing the lasting effects of the denial of timely and appropriate medical treatment.
