Grieving husband says "reckless" Texas abortion law led to pregnant wife's death
Hope Ngumezi still can't believe he had to bury his wife after he took her to a Texas hospital for a miscarriage when she was 11 weeks pregnant.
"I blame the doctors, I blame the hospital, and I blame the state of Texas," Ngumezi said.
In 2021, Texas lawmakers passed a near-total abortion ban. The Texas Heartbeat Act allows an exception only if a pregnant woman's life is in danger or faces a serious risk — but doctors told CBS News the law lacks clarity around how danger and serious risk are defined.
"I feel like the law is very reckless...very dangerous," Ngumezi said.
Porsha Ngumezi wasn't given a D&C, a surgical procedure that can be used when a miscarriage isn't complete and the patient is bleeding excessively — as Ngumezi was at the time. It's the same procedure used for many abortions, but doctors told CBS News their colleagues hesitate to perform them, fearing the state's criminal penalties.
Ngumezi believes that's what happened in his wife's situation. She eventually went into cardiac arrest and died.
"I just felt like the doctor turned his back on us. You know, 'I don't want to go to jail. I don't want to lose my license or get fined, so the best course is for me to protect myself,'" Ngumezi said.
The Texas law may be impacting the maternal mortality rate. Between 2019 and 2022, that rate increased by 56% after the state outlawed abortions, according to Gender Equity Policy Institute. During the same period, the rate increased by just 11% on a national scale. Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman during or within 42 days of the end of pregnancy from causes related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but excluding accidental or incidental causes.
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, who authored the legislation banning most abortions in Texas, said, "Most hospitals are getting this right, but some are not."
In response to doctors' concerns about the ramifications, Hughes said, "I hear that. And I can show you the definition of abortion in Texas and it says removal of a miscarriage is not an abortion."
Hughes said the legislature is working on clarifying the language, but the law has yet to be amended.
As for Ngumezi, he's doing the best he can as a single dad of two boys.
"We're not supposed to be worried about, man if I have a complication, am I gonna lose my life? Would a doctor give me the proper care?" Ngumezi said.
It's critical care he worries is guided by the fear of prosecution, rather than saving mothers' lives.
