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When she gave start to her child with a deadly situation two months early, Samantha Casiano scrambled to boost funds for the funeral. Anti-abortion advocates say Texas legal guidelines are “working as designed.”
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Let’s flip now to the story of a funeral in Texas. And a warning – it includes the loss of a kid. The child’s title was Halo. She was born final week. She solely lived for 4 hours. Her dad and mom knew she wouldn’t dwell lengthy as a result of she had been identified with a deadly situation in utero. And this household’s state of affairs unfolded in a state with strict abortion legal guidelines, which is related right here, as NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin is about to clarify. Hey, Selena.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: Hello, Mary Louise.
KELLY: All proper. Inform me about Halo’s mom. You spoke along with her final week. Who’s she?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Yeah. Her title is Samantha Casiano, and she or he’s 29. She and her husband, Luis Villasana, are elevating 5 youngsters of their cellular house in East Texas. And in December, when she was 20 weeks pregnant, she was at a prenatal appointment when she realized that the fetus she was carrying had anencephaly, which signifies that the mind and cranium have been solely partially developed. Her OB-GYN advised her the fetus was incompatible with life. This is Samantha.
SAMANTHA CASIANO: After which I requested her, you already know, hey; what are my choices? And he or she says, properly, due to the brand new legislation, you have no choices. You need to go on along with your being pregnant.
KELLY: The brand new legislation being the brand new abortion legislation in Texas. And there are not any exceptions for a case like hers.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: No, not in Texas. And actually, only a few states that limit abortion do have exceptions for fetal anomalies. So should you’re on this state of affairs in Texas, one possibility is to journey out of state for an abortion. I reported in February a few lady who did that. She flew to Colorado. She stated it value over $3,000. And Samantha and Luis did not have these sorts of financial savings, so they’d have needed to drive 12 hours to get to New Mexico. They could not organize little one care. So she braced herself for 5 extra months of being pregnant.
KELLY: 5 months. God, how did she cope throughout that point?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Oh, she says these months have been terrible. She has an workplace job and began working remotely so she did not have to answer individuals saying, how far alongside are you? And it was additionally painful to go to her medical doctors appointments and see different pregnant girls there. Right here she is.
CASIANO: I undoubtedly really feel like, you already know, at – once we discovered she had anencephaly, I ought to have had that selection, that proper over my very own physique and over my daughter’s physique, to have the ability to inform my daughter, it is time so that you can relaxation, as a result of she was going to finish up having to relaxation anyhow.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She spent months fundraising for the funeral. She was quoted $4,000. A nonprofit referred to as First Contact Household additionally helped her fundraise, however she did not have as a lot time to get cash collectively as she anticipated as a result of the child was born final week, two months early, on March 29. And at present the household had a small graveside service and buried the child lady they named Halo.
KELLY: In the present day. Oh. Selena, does Texas present any public assist for households like hers?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: No, and that is one thing Molly Duane identified once I spoke to her. She’s an legal professional with the Middle for Reproductive Rights. Texas leaves individuals to cope with the private and monetary fallout once they have a being pregnant like this, Duane says.
MOLLY DUANE: The place is the state of Texas to offer the protection web for her after forcing her to offer start to a toddler that did not survive and by no means would?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: I additionally spoke to Amy O’Donnell. She’s with the Texas Alliance for Life, and she or he advised me she doesn’t assist including extra exceptions to Texas’ abortion legal guidelines.
AMY O’DONNELL: I do consider the Texas legal guidelines are working as designed. I additionally consider that we now have a duty to teach Texas girls and households on the sources that we now have accessible to them.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She says there are personal organizations that may assist with funerals, and her group would assist public funds getting used for that, too. Samantha and her household are getting some further assist. Since NPR revealed her story yesterday, many individuals have been moved to donate to her funeral fundraising web page, they usually’ve now donated $30,000 and counting.
KELLY: NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin. Thanks.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Thanks.
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