Texan Amanda Zurawski and her husband were “over the moon” about her pregnancy. But around the 18th week, she suffered severe complications after her cervix dilated prematurely and ruptured.
At this time, she knew and her doctor confirmed nothing could be done. Her unborn baby girl, named Willow, wouldn’t make it. Despite her devastation, she needed an abortion to safely deliver her baby.
However, two days prior a new abortion ban had gone into place, restricting the surgery completely unless her life was at stake.
For women in Texas, one of the only exceptions for this ban is if the mother’s life is in danger.
For Zurawski, it took three days and a near-death experience due to septic shock before her doctor could intervene. She then flatlined again, landing in an intensive care unit for a few days.
“I was actually lucky because I lived, and I knew others might not be so lucky,” she said in her statement at the round table. “What I went through was nothing short of barbaric, and it did not need to happen. It was completely avoidable.”
Zurawski’s story was one of the few shared at a President Joe Biden campaign roundtable event held in Madison on April 16. Both Zurawski and Kaitlyn Joshua, a woman denied an abortion when miscarrying in Louisiana, shared their stories and called on Wisconsinites to consider abortion rights when voting this November.
The Wisconsin tour took place over the course of three days with roundtables held in Milwaukee, Madison and Eau Claire.
Back-and-forth abortion access, fewer new OB-GYNs in Wisconsin
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, an abortion ban first passed in 1849 went into effect in Wisconsin. The ban prohibits nearly all abortions with no exception for rape and incest.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI) chose to temporarily suspend abortion services in the state following the ruling.
In July 2023, Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled the ban did not apply to abortion procedures because Wisconsin Statute 940.04 does not prohibit consensual abortion care. The decision prompted PPWI to resume abortion services at three of its locations.
It is likely Schlipper’s decision will appear before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski said at the roundtable the “post-Roe world” has not only restricted access to abortion but also has contributed to an OB-GYN shortage within Wisconsin.
In the most recent applications cycle for Wisconsin OB-GYN residency programs, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported an 8% decline in applicants.
“They don't want to come here,” Godlewski said. “They're not able to get the training that they want and that's going to significantly continue to impact our health outcomes in a negative way.”
While abortion services are currently available in Wisconsin, Zurawski stressed the critical role Wisconsin will play in the 2024 election.
“People here are seeing firsthand what happens when you have Republican politicians who insist on inserting themselves in personal health care decisions,” Zurawski said. “Over and over again, Donald Trump brags about ‘killing’ Roe v. Wade. It is unthinkable to me that anyone could cheer on the cruel abortion bans that nearly took my life. But he does.”
Joshua echoed this sentiment. Louisiana abortion bans affected her pregnancy from the start, she said. Despite actively miscarrying, she said she was denied care and sent home with “thoughts and prayers” to pass her pregnancy.
“An abortion ban anywhere is a threat to abortion care everywhere,” Joshua told The Daily Cardinal. “We are simply asking for the most basic level of maternal health care.”
Zurawski and Joshua said they wanted to participate in the roundtable to share their stories and advocate for legal and safe abortions across the U.S.
“What’s happened to me and Amanda is not inevitable — and we can stop it,” Joshua said. “Reelecting President Biden, Vice President Harris and Democrats up and down the ballot [is] essential to the fight for reproductive freedom.”
And Joshua said she hopes politicians will continue to have these conversations about abortion access and provide opportunities “for folks to feel more comfortable sharing their stories.”
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t fight,” Zuwarski added.
Abortion is expected to remain a top issue for Democratic voters in Wisconsin. Roughly 24% of Democratic voters said they consider abortion the most important issue in deciding who to vote for, according to the latest 2024 Marquette University Law School poll. But only 5% of independent and Republican voters saw abortion as their top issue.
Less than a week after the roundtable event, Vice President Kamala visited La Crosse to rally voters on the issue of abortion Monday. The trip marked Harris’ third visit to the state in 2024.
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
