‘Gut-wrenching’: Woman forced to carry her dead fetus for 2 weeks due to anti-abortion laws

The same surgical procedure that is used to treat a miscarriage is also used for terminating pregnancies. New Texas anti-abortion laws have doctors nervous to perform procedures for miscarriages, forcing this woman to carry her dead fetus in her womb for two weeks. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more. #CNN #News

64 comments

  1. She could’ve died because of the infection she would have gotten from the decaying fetus inside of her! This is just awful!
    It’s so brave of her to come out and share her story, I hope the US lawmakers will see this and take situations like this into consideration before they make such drastic changes in any laws.

    1. @Leonard Hofstadter, if something wouldā€™ve had happened to Marlena, you can bet that many of us wouldā€™ve continued her fight & be her voice, esp for her daughter. Marlena went through a lot to bring her baby girl into this world. Marlena has brought many women & men hope and light thru her inspirational YouTube videos. I wouldā€™ve gone down swinging & bounced back up for her.

    2. @I. Teresa Gonzalez That is an inspiring thing to say, people like you and Marlena ignite hope in others. I hope that this law can be reversed so there will be some sense of security in healthcare for women and young girls in the US.

  2. This is insane. All because of politician’s beliefs and people pushing religion this woman couldnt get the care she needed in a swift manner. This is America..but doesnt have to be..Vote these people out! !!!

  3. I’m so sorry what this poor woman experienced. My daughter-in-law had 2 miscarriages in a year and both were devastating to us all. Luckily she expelled these on her own but I can only imagine what might happen today. If this woman reads this, I want to say I can tell you are a wonderful mother and I wish for you a healthy happy baby when the time is right!

  4. My daughter was 19, in Louisiana, 18 years ago. I had to get three experts to agree Micaela was dead and my daughter would die, just to have the C-section at 7 months pregnant. Then, baby was placed on machines and I needed three neo natal neurosurgeons to say she was dead and unplug her. I had to sign for her seek the doctors in a mad rush, when my daughter needed me most. I waited in a court room 8 hours with all the paper work so I could take to the hospital to let Micaela go.
    The torture The Christian šŸ’© imposed on so many will not go unpunished.
    SEEKING JESUS WITH NO COMPASSION IS BEING EVIL!

    1. @Kristy Campbell you are reported frequently. Obviously, YouTube does not care, nor you!
      Have the same kind of day and continue your harassment. Thanks Youtube!

    2. @Enough Iā€™m assuming youā€™re talking about a comment like the one I just got from a ā€œdifferent userā€ only the wording is exactly the same. I report every time.

    3. They donā€™t care about Jesus or life. They only care about power and being immorally ā€œsuperiorā€

    4. How sad to think people would take pleasure in grinding women down at our lowest point. That makes me so sad. Their idea of basic human dignity is so screwed up.

  5. I feel so sorry for that woman. That’s torture that she was forced to carry a non living fetus for that long. Even if you are against abortion, how can you be against a procedure to get rid of a fetus that isn’t even alive? No one should have to go through that, she has already been through enough. I really hope that people can understand her situation and try to walk in her shoes. I wish her well and good for her for speaking up about this.

    1. Marlena Stell is quite capable of taking care of herself considering she was a very successful YouTuber with her own makeup line. Makeup Geek

    2. @Martin Sulat she’s actually a very very wealthy YouTuber that started out before YouTube blew up and were considered influences. She was with YouTube before YouTubers were paid well. She launched a makeup company called MakeUp Gee, which was also her YouTube Channel name. She’s FAAAAR from lazy. She worked hard, built a company and made her self a millionaire. You should not judge a book by the cover!

    3. @Jew Dy she didn’t blame anyone for her miscarriage. Where you heard that in all that audio speaks largely to your state of mind. She blamed the law for having to carry a dead fetus that died naturally during the pregnancy process. She blamed the law for having to see and re-live seeing her dead baby repeatedly.

  6. I’ve lost multiple pregnancies. It’s devastating. I’ve found out at a routine check up past six months each time. No heart beat….total devastation. They send you home knowing the pregnancy inside you is lost. You sit at home in a trance & wait for a call to come to the hospital to deliver. They had to induce each time, it took days.
    I survived because I’m Canadian. I didn’t have to worry about any cost. The loving and caring staff sat with me and cried through the nights.
    The nurses and the doctors loved & supported my family. They bonded with me and they told me I’d be back one day and leaving with a baby. Each time I failed. It’s been the most devastating thing of my life. Finally because of love and support I was able at 40 to have a baby. The hospital, the doctors and staff are the reason. My choice was to have a baby. That was what I wanted. 2 ultrasounds a week never any judgment and a ton of support. They are the reason I’m alive.
    You never wait more than 24 hours to be called to the hospital. Honestly the lost pregnancy is not good for you and can make you very very sick. Holding a lost pregnancy for 2 weeks is totally risking the life of the mother.

    1. @Llynnyia
      Who was it that denied her? Was it the Supreme Court? Was it the laws of Texas?
      It was her very own ā€œhealthcare providerā€. I believe your anger and questions should be directed at whoever it was who told her to wait.
      Texas law puts a limit on abortion, itā€™s called ā€œthe heartbeat lawā€ for a reason. No heartbeat, no problem. Perhaps her abortion doctor wanted to make a point, just like the abortion Doctor in Indiana that contacted the media a full day before she reported the rape to the authorities. That 10 year old could have received an abortion in Ohio but the family didnā€™t want to risk the motherā€™s boyfriend going to jail. So much false or incomplete information. So many hurting people being taken advantage of, itā€™s shameful.

    2. @Perpetual Growth Even in Snow your story is unique. How often is their a stillbirth after 5 months? 0.001% of pregnancies lol we aren’t writing laws based around fractions of a decimal lady

    3. @Perpetual Growth Even in Snow “i think women should do what is best for them”

      That is the problem, they are….what the mother wants greatly increases the chances of chromosomal anomalies

      Why are women so concerned with a one in a million still birth and not at all worried about the 1 in 100 chance of birth defects when the mother is a geriatric pregnancy?

  7. I watched you stay strong while going through this and being honest with us all Malena. I am sorry you had to go through this. Please vote everyone.

    1. Yep, I will vote for a womanā€™s right to CHOOSE what happens to her own body. #VoteBlueIn22.

  8. Thank you so much CNN for allowing me to tell my story. Your team was beyond gracious and kind as they came to film. I appreciate you allowing me to be a voice for many other moms who have gone through what I have.

    1. MY SINCEREST CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND YOURS……
      THIS IS NOT A CHOICE A WOMAN,HER MATE OR THEIR OBSTETRICIAN SHOULD HAVE TO MAKE….I HOPE THAT YOU FIND A PLACE AND SPACE TO LIVE FREE.

    2. I ask Our Lord to bless and comfort you and your family Marlena. No mother, family should have to experience what you went through having a miscarriage. I am glad to know that you are doing better.

    3. I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I also had a “missed” abortion in 1981. Thank God the state I live in, Illinois, changed a law in the previous year that said I did not have to carry a dead baby until I had a spontaneous birth. This whole issue has gotten out of hand.

  9. This really sucks ladies… I have had a DNC to thin out my lining so I could get pregnant. It worked btw. This is going to hurt all of us…even those not having a miscarriage or abortion. How is this pro life when you are putting so many lives at risk!?!?

    1. @M F I agree, but maā€™am, I will not be waiting until Nov 8. I will mail in ballot, or stand in line early the week before. Down here, who knows what the weather will be like on Nov 8th.

  10. If men had to endure this, it wouldn’t even be anything controversial, they could do whatever the hell they want.

  11. This is wrong on so many levels. I was concerned that things like this could happen because of the doctors fear of being accused of performing an abortion and being accused of aborting a healthy fetus with a healthy mother. The 10 year old having to go to another state because she was raped and Republicans claiming that she was lying before getting all of the facts which seems to be a common theme with them.

    1. @Fe Lemoal that’s what people say when they don’t have a valid counter argument and realize they’re wrong but ok

    2. @RealityBitez
      cammybaby01: _”There were anti abortion laws in place a year ago, and those laws were what stopped her from getting an abortion.”_

      You: _”not where she lives.”_

      She’s from Texas. SB8 passed 2021-05-19 and went into effect on 9-1-21. You pointed out the ultrasound. It says 8-30-2021. The picture is shown when they talk about the ultrasound where everything was fine at 7.5 weeks. 2 weeks later was when they could not detect a heartbeat anymore, so SB8 already went into effect by that time. Hence the refusal by the doctor to treat her because of fear to end up in court.

      You: _”This is presented as a result of Roe. V. Wade”_

      1) Nowhere in this video, the title or the description box is it presented as a result of Roe v Wade.
      2) The SCOTUS decision you actually mean is Dobbs v Jackson. You couldn’t even get that right…šŸ¤¦ā€ā™€ļø
      Either way this segment was about the fallout from anti abortion laws, which was presented as such.
      You are the one who is wrong. Simply admit it. šŸ’ā€ā™€ļø

      You: _”when you call someone a liar [and] it’s proven that you were wrong. The polite thing to do is admit you were wrong and apologize”_

      cammybaby01 wasn’t wrong. You were. You are the one who wrote _”Fake[,] it never happened”_ . Which is obviously a lie.

      So please do the polite thing and admit that you were wrong, apologize and thank them.

  12. I had a 2 miscarriages 3 years ago and had to get a D&C and it was already devastating enough I canā€™t imagine what a terrible experience this was for her.

    1. Me too. Vote BLUE November 8, 2022. We join together, fight with our votes, and have our voices heard.

    2. I also have had two miscarriages; children that I wanted. I couldā€™ve died during the second one as I had so much blood loss I was fainting. My husband said it looked like a murder scene. The doctor saved my life and I was able to continue to care for my two year old daughter and teenage son, and my husband didnā€™t become a single parent. Itā€™s devastating enough to lose your pregnancy, but to risk a womanā€™s life like that is maddening.

  13. I read this story about a week ago.. it made me just cry for her. NO woman, nobody at all, should be deprived care in any ways, especially this.

  14. I’m literally crying right now. I miscarried, so I can imagine carrying a fetus for 2 weeks inside of you because no one will remove it. Why make someone suffer like that?! That’s so cruel and inhumane.

  15. This exact same thing happened to me 40 plus years ago. I honestly donā€™t know what the legal status of abortion was back then, but it was never brought up that it might be illegal. Pretty sad that back then when things were much more conservative, my health came first and it was taken care of as soon as possible so I could move on and have a healthy wonderful daughter 12 months later. This is such a crime against women that it makes me furious.

  16. OMG, this is Marlena. Sheā€™s a Beauty Influencer & owner of Makeup Geek. Iā€™m so proud of her for speaking her truth on such an important & private issue. Sheā€™s an amazing woman. Beautiful family!

    1. I said the same thing when I came across this video, “That’s Marlena” So sorry this happening to her & other women

    2. @curly73, girl I was heartbroken sheā€™s been through so much. Marlena is so brave & strong. Iā€™m glad to hear sheā€™s getting the hell outta Texas. Her daughter has grown up absolutely gorgeous.

  17. I miscarried early in a pregnancy many years ago. I was gushing blood. Lost a lot of it. If the hospital hadn’t been able to do an emergency D&C, I likely would have died from blood loss. My heart goes out to all American women living through this male-made dystopia.

  18. I went through a miscarriage in 2018. That was the most painful and devastating experience in my life. It was not only painful emotionally, but physically. It breaks my heart that this woman had to go through this. How selfish of people making decisions that do not consider situations like this!

  19. This is unconscionable. No woman should ever have to go through this. It is a medical procedure, period.

    1. My wife went through this multiple times before Roe vs. Wade was overturned. It turns out that what she takes as a part of a new law, has always been a standard. She had to have a scoped ultra sound to ensure the child was no longer alive. That is a standard practice. Unfortunately, in many cases this means the woman has to carry the likely dead child until the hospital can arrange that. This has nothing to do with abortion law.

      If abortion law was what it used to Federally be, the only possible change to this would be her going to a different clinic and asking for an abortion and no second D & C to ensure this was not a problem with the first monitor. It sounds like she wanted this child so Im pretty sure that would not have happened. My wife had to carry her 4th miscarraige for two weeks for A. The ultrasound reason, B. Staffing, current appointments, surgery dates etc.

      I get that when you learn your love of your life child to be is no longer alive you want it removed. This waiting game for what she is saying is nothing new though. People need truth and not sensationalism.

  20. Situations like this show how this is nobody’s business but the woman’s and the doctor’s. I can’t believe we’re back to the 1970s.

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