Political leaders in Texas are questioning the state’s stance on the rights of the unborn following a lawsuit filed by a prison guard who delivered a stillborn child.
In her suit, Salia Issa said during her shift at the prison she began experiencing pain “similar to a contraction,” but alleges she was not allowed to leave by her supervisor, and was ultimately kept her in the post for an another two hours.
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When her shift ended, the plaintiff claimed she drove herself to an area hospital, where she was then told surgery was needed immediately because doctors were unable to detect a fetal heartbeat. The child was later delivered stillborn.
Filed in 2021, Issa’s suit asks the court to recoup monetary damages for medical bills, as well as funeral expenses for the unborn child. She has since been met by opposition from the state attorney general’s office, who has requested a judge dismiss the case.
Texas is among one of the most restrictive states on abortion laws in the country. The state made it illegal in 2022 for anyone to provide or aid in an abortion, while leaving the woman who had the abortion free from prosecution.
According to a challenge filed by the state attorney general’s office in March arguing in favor of the state to dismiss, “just because several statutes define an individual to include an unborn child does not mean that the Fourteenth Amendment does the same.”
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Their argument also centers on the issue of Issa’s loss of her unborn child, which took place prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Last week, the judge presiding over her case denied the state’s motion to dismiss, and allowed Issa’s lawsuit to proceed, and further allowed her legal team not to address arguments about the rights of the unborn.
