Amanda Zurawski tore into GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas at a Senate hearing on Wednesday over the state’s abortion ban, saying she “nearly died on their watch” after being denied care in a pregnancy crisis. (Watch the video below.)
“I wanted to address my senators, Cruz and Cornyn, neither of whom, regrettably, are in the room right now. But I would like for them to know that what happened to me … it’s a direct result of the policies that they support,” Zurawski said. “I nearly died on their watch and furthermore, as a result of what happened to me, I may have been robbed of the opportunity to have children in the future.”
Zurawski is suing Texas for withholding an abortion as her pregnancy complications became more dire. She said she had been told her baby would not survive, but doctors said they could not offer more care because fetal cardiac activity could still be detected, according to her suit.
Zurawski eventually developed sepsis, and doctors induced labor. She gave birth and the baby died.
“I wasn’t permitted to have an abortion and the trauma and the PTSD and the depression that I have dealt with in the eight months since this happened to me is paralyzing,” Zurawski said at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “On top of that, I am still struggling to have children.”
Both Texas senators attended the hearing, but were not present when Zurawski spoke, The Hill reported.
HuffPost did not immediately hear back from either senator.
In 2021, Texas adopted a six-week abortion ban. Most abortions are now prohibited in 14 states, following the Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v. Wade, The New York Times reported this week.