A YouTuber has revealed the heartbreaking consequences that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will have.
Texas resident Marlena Stell opened up about her own devastating experience, where due to anti-abortion laws she was forced to carry her dead fetus for weeks.
During an interview with CNN, the beauty YouTuber and cosmetics guru explained that doctors refused to provide medical intervention even after finding out that she had miscarried.
In a video last summer, Stell revealed that she and her husband were delighted to discover that she was pregnant with their second child. However, after the second ultrasound, they learned the devastating news that they had lost their baby.
"[The doctor] said there is no heartbeat. There is no viable pregnancy," she explained to CNN.
Stell was heartbroken - but the situation only became more difficult when she asked the doctor if the fetus could be removed via surgery.
"The doctor said, 'Because of the new law that's passed here, you have to schedule another ultrasound to verify that this pregnancy is not valid before we can give you any sort of medical intervention'," Stell told her social media followers in a video.
Understandably, Stell did not want to relive the trauma of the first ultrasound. "It's gut-wrenching… cause you already know what you're going to see. It's just like, seeing it twice, being told that you're not going to be a mom," she explained to CNN.
"Just emotionally carrying it around and just knowing that there's nothing you could do. It just feels very, it's like I can't grieve or move past it because I'm just walking around carrying it," the mom added.
Carrying a dead fetus can be extremely dangerous for the mother, placing them at serious risk of infection and putting them in danger of becoming sterile.
Although Stell was eventually able to find a doctor who would perform surgery on her to remove the fetus, she explained in her YouTube video how anti-abortion protestors made her feel like the situation was her own fault.
"I get so angry that I was treated this way because of laws that were passed by men who have never been pregnant and never will be," she said to her followers.
"I'm frustrated, I'm angry and I feel like the women here deserve better than that. It doesn't matter what side of the fence that you want to sit on, laws like this affect all women regardless of what situation you're in and it's not right," the mother added.
Sadly, the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last month could put many more mothers in a similar position, as anti-abortion laws become more widespread across the U.S.
