#Ectopic Pregnancy

[geezerwench]

Trump's America.

 In Trump’s Own Words: “There Has to Be Some Form of Punishment” For Women Who Have an Abortion – And For Their Doctors, Too

April 11, 2024

#Project2025 #trump #donaldtrump

[cheerfullycatholic]

Caption⬇️

From daily_fetus on Instagram

[short-honey-badger]

Not all good comes to those who wait

Pairings: Shanks x Female Reader

Warnings: Pregnancy talk and pretty sensitive subjects. Hurt/Comfort and angst. Ectopic pregnancy. You can scroll if this is too much for you.

This is something for me personally to try and get over what's been going on in my life. In the past three months, my relationship almost ended, we got evicted, and as soon as we got moved, I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of October. Last week, I found out it was an ectopic pregnancy, and I've just... not been the same since. But I miss you guys so much, so this is me trying to get past my shitty brain block the best way I know how.

Shanks knows that there is something going on when Trafalgar D. Water Law's face dims in silent sympathy while doing your evaluation. You are only a couple of weeks pregnant, having found out when you couldn't keep any of your food down over a couple of days at the beginning of the month. You had come to him with a bright smile on your beautiful face, hand held protectively over your stomach and the growing bean inside as you quietly told him the good news.

It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. The two of you would hide away in his cabin, whispering sweet words to one another while Shanks held your still-flat belly. He doted on whatever you needed, making sure that you would be comfortable and safe for the duration of your pregnancy. To make sure all went well, he had contacted the Surgeon of Death and asked if Law could come on board and give you a check-up.

With the use of his devil fruit, Law could see that the embryo had not implanted in the correct spot in your womb like it should have been. Instead, it had planted itself in your right fallopian tube. He shucked his latex gloves off and eyed you and the red-haired captain.

You could see the look on his face, and your heart plummets when you catch your lover reaching out to curl his hand around your wrist, squeezing softly as he asks Law what was going on.

Trafalgar clears his throat, tone soft as he locks eyes with you and explains what had happened. Law explains that this is an ectopic pregnancy. That the embryo isn't viable with it having attached to the incorrect part of your body and that the best course of action for your heath would be for him to remove it. He tells you that it is nothing that you have done, that it's simply a freak accident that could happen to anyone. You listen with cotton between your ears, heart shattering, not just for the bean inside you, but for yourself and Shanks.

The excitement you had felt with the check-up plummets into dispare, and you don't realize that you're crying until Shanks slips his hand from your wrist and gently wipes the tears from your cheeks. Law leaves the room to you and your lover, and you stare at him with fearful eyes.

"I don't...was it my fault? What..?"

Shanks immediately pulls you close and into his chest, lips pressed against the crown of your head as he fights back the feeling of tears gathering in his eyes. His own heart is breaking, fear and worry breaking out, and feeling heavy in his chest. He wants to rage and cry at the sea, demand why his amazing darling couldn't have the one thing the two of them had been so excited for. But you don't need that right now. You need him to he strong, so he would be.

"None of its your fault, baby," He whispers furiously and clutches you tighter when you turn to bury your face in his chest, shoulders shaking as sobs begin to overwhelm you. You wrap an arm around your stomach, grief clouding your brain for a child that you would never get the chance to know.

"I've got you, baby. Whatever happens, I'll never let you go," Shanks whispers, and you latch onto his words, eyes clenched shut in pain. You listen to him whisper sweet reassurances and know that slowly, and with time, that you would be okay.

You pull away just enough that Shanks can dip down and seal his lips over your own, his lashes wet with unshed tears. He would make sure that you would pull through. He would be the rock that you needed.

*Ectopic pregnancies are tough, and I hope that this can help someone else know that none of it is your fault. If there is anyone out there that just needs a shoulder to cry on or a kind word, please feel free to message me.*

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

Remember How "Prolifers" Swore They Knew an Ectopic Pregnancy Was Nonviable and Said We Were Fearmongering for Using It as an Example Against Abortion Bans?

According to a press release, Doe thought she might be pregnant in October 2022 and wanted to get an ultrasound. She found Clearway through an online search and got an appointment later that day. A Clearway nurse did an ultrasound and said the pregnancy was both viable and in her uterus; the suit says it’s against state medical regulations for registered nurses to read ultrasounds because they’re not licensed diagnosticians. A physician didn’t see Doe, though her discharge paperwork said a medical doctor provided her care. A month later, Doe felt shooting pain on her side and was so weak and lightheaded that her husband called 911, per the release. Emergency room doctors diagnosed her with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and internal hemorrhage. In order to stop the hemorrhaging, doctors did emergency surgery in which they had to remove of one of her fallopian tubes. None of this should have been necessary, as legitimate medical providers would have ended Doe’s life-threatening pregnancy with medication—typically the cancer drug methotrexate.

[vaspider]

Pregnancy, loss, politics, family news.

[unhingedangstaddict]

Those Things I Miss But Know Are Never Coming Back

The angsty mpreg oneshot I've been working on the last couple days is done! Read below the cut or on ao3

TW: Ectopic pregnancy, pregnancy loss, hospitals. Discussion of blood and alcohol. Brief mention of stillbirth and fetal alcohol syndrome

Tommy could feel his stomach turning with nausea as he maintained his focus on piloting the chopper back to Harbor. For a split second his eyes flicked down to his watch, sure enough, it was 3:40pm, the same time he’d thrown up every day for the past week. It wasn’t food poisoning because that would’ve cleared up by now, so either it was the world’s weirdest flu virus or it was something far worse. Either way, Tommy couldn’t exactly find it in himself to care enough about himself to do anything about it.

Tommy swallowed back the warm excess of saliva in his mouth and got back to Harbor as quickly as he could, and did his best to not look like he was bolting for the bathroom as soon as he touched down. He just barely made it in time before throwing up. When he finished he leaned back against the cool wall and took a second to catch his breath.

Ever since the night six weeks ago that he broke his own heart by walking out of Evan’s apartment Tommy had been unable to find it in himself to take good care of himself. Tommy wasn’t even in his truck by the time he’d realized what a mistake he’d made and what an idiot he was. He should’ve turned around and gone back and begged for Evan’s forgiveness, but at the same time he didn’t feel he deserved it. Evan deserved better than Tommy. Someone who wasn’t broken like Tommy. Someone who wouldn’t break Evan’s heart like Tommy had. Someone who could actually be Evan’s last. Tommy was never meant to be someone’s last. He was too broken, too damaged, too far beyond redemption for that, and the ray of sunshine that Evan Buckley was deserved better.

Tommy hauled himself to his feet, washed his hands and face and rinsed his mouth in the sink and got back to work, and no one had any idea that Tommy had just been sick. Tommy supposed in a way it was a blessing that he and Lucy had ended up on different shifts, she’d notice right away, but seeing as she wasn’t there she couldn’t, and it was hard to find time to hang out as friends when they were always on opposite schedules. Tommy missed her of course, but he was also in a sense glad that he could stay away from her all-too-knowing watch.

Two weeks passed with Tommy having the same weirdly consistent nausea. He never once spiked a fever though. The only other possible symptom he had was fatigue, but his sleep schedule had been a mess since the break up, it wasn’t all that surprising that he was always tired. He’d also been having some mild lower abdominal pain on-and-off, but he’d been eating like shit and going too hard on himself in the gym so that was likely the cause of that. Tommy figured this wasn’t the flu, but he had no idea what it could be.

“Your sister’s pregnant?” Jensen asked Grimaldo at the table they were eating lunch at. 

Tommy was at a separate table, picking at his own lunch and trying to read a news article on his phone. He couldn’t help but overhear his colleagues' conversation.

“That’s crazy.” Jensen continued. “My cousin just announced they’re expecting. I swear man, everyone’s getting pregnant. There’s gotta be something in the water.” He laughed.

Tommy was glad he was eating with a plastic fork and not a metal one because the fork fell out of his hand and surely would’ve gathered attention had it made a noise. There was no way Tommy could be…

No, he was over forty. Male pregnancies over forty were virtually unheard of unless IVF was used. Men over forty who weren’t trying to get pregnant didn’t accidentally get pregnant, right?

The question plagued Tommy for the rest of his shift. There was no way, but it would explain the weird nausea and the fatigue. But also, wouldn’t he have figured it out sooner? He hadn’t been with anyone since Evan. The break up was two months ago now. Surely he would’ve noticed something sooner.

After his shift Tommy found himself at a pharmacy, hemming and hawing in the pregnancy test aisle. He was being ridiculous. There was absolutely no way. He looked at the tests again. Tommy huffed and hastily grabbed a box and marched over to the till. He wasn’t pregnant. He couldn’t be. But what was fifteen bucks to give himself some piece of mind that he was right?

Tommy didn’t even touch the tests that night. He was exhausted by the time he got home and seemed to remember hearing something about it being better to test in the morning anyway, so he decided to let himself sleep for the night and worry about that tomorrow morning.

It must’ve been eating away at Tommy’s consciousness though, because he bolted upright in bed a few hours later, having woken from a nightmare of himself birthing a stillborn while the doctor hounded on Tommy that it was his fault for drinking alcohol and eating things he shouldn’t have been eating early on in the pregnancy.

Five minutes later the timer on Tommy’s phone went off and he flipped the test over to see the results.

Two very clear pink lines. The test line was so dark the control line almost had no color to it, but it was very obviously two lines. Positive.

“Fuck.” Tommy muttered.

Tommy spent the next several hours crying in between breaks to puke and to take the other two tests in the box, which also came back positive.

The universe apparently had a very sick and twisted sense of humor. Why were there so many loving couples who desperately wanted kids and couldn’t have them, while Tommy who wasn’t trying, wasn’t even in a relationship, and should not have been able to get pregnant in the first place able to conceive?

Tommy knew he needed to tell Evan and the sooner the better. Tommy figured he had to be at least ten-ish weeks along already. Roughly a quarter of the way through the pregnancy. He also needed to see a doctor.

Tommy didn’t even understand how he hadn’t lost it already with what crappy care he’d been taking of himself the last several weeks. God he’d been drinking- and a lot. What if he hurt the kid? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was no joke. Tommy found himself puking again at that realization.

Tommy looked at the time and found it was 9am already. He reached for his phone and called his doctor’s office. At first the receptionist said they couldn’t get him in for nearly a month, but when Tommy broke down and started crying while explaining why he needed to be seen sooner, the poor, sweet receptionist on the other line found a spot to squeeze him into next week, and thankfully ended what had to be the most humiliating phone call of Tommy’s life.

He didn’t know how he could wait til next week to tell Evan. It felt cruel to keep this from him. Evan had the right to know. Evan loved kids, wanted kids of his own, wanted to be a dad. Tommy couldn’t keep this from him. He didn’t know what this would do with regards to their relationship. Tommy certainly didn’t expect this to magically fix everything. But Evan deserved the chance to be in his kid’s life. Their kid deserved to know both their parents. Tommy could put his own feelings aside for someone else’s sake, he’d been doing it almost his whole life, he was good at it, and he definitely owed it to this kid to do it again now.

After some social media sleuthing and mental math and eventually calling in a favor to a friend at dispatch, Tommy confirmed that the 118 A-shift was not currently on duty. Evan wasn’t working. He might not be home, but Tommy had to do this in person. He wasn’t telling Evan about something so monumental over a text. Tommy showered and got himself ready and drove to Evan’s apartment.

Tommy nearly turned around about a dozen times, but finally managed to get to Evan’s building and park. He sat in the truck for goodness only knew how long before he finally built the courage to get out and go in. The sooner he did this, the better, and Tommy needed something to feel better right now.

The elevator made him queasy to the point that Tommy got off after just one floor and took the stairs the rest of the way up to Evan’s floor. Taking so many stairs brought back that dull, crampy ache Tommy had been feeling in his stomach for weeks- he supposed that was actually due to the changes his body was doing though. Either way, he preferred that dull achy pain over puking in the elevator, so he pushed through and finally got to Evan’s floor. Tommy made his way to Evan’s door, it took him a solid minute or five to finally gather the courage to knock.

A moment later Evan pulled the door open and when he saw it was Tommy, Evan began to close the door again.

“We need to talk.” Tommy said quickly. “Please E- Buck. Just hear me out-”

“Hear you out?” Evan scoffed as he opened the door again. “I need to hear you out? After you didn’t give me the chance to say anything when you dumped me?”

“You’re pissed at me, and I get that-” Tommy started, still standing in the hallway.

“Pissed? Tommy, you broke my heart. And for weeks, weeks, I hoped you’d reach out- I saw you bubbling me, I thought you were going to reach out and you never did. It’s been two months and you want to talk now?” Evan crossed his arms. “I waited- you had your chance. I don’t want to hear it now.”

“Ev-” Tommy stopped himself and sighed. “Please believe me when I say I am well aware that you deserve so much better than how I’ve behaved, Buck. I’m sick with myself, and I’m not saying that because I’m looking for sympathy- I just want you to know that I’m as pissed at me as you are.” Tommy insisted, truly meaning every word he said.

“If you’re so self aware then why are you here now?” Evan demanded.

“Like I said, we need to talk.” Tommy said simply.

“What? You suddenly realized you made a mistake and want me back? It’s too damn late for that, Thomas.”

“I know that-”

“Clearly you don’t because if you did you wouldn’t be here!” Evan exclaimed.

“Because this isn’t-” Tommy didn’t know how to say what he needed to say and to make matters worse, he was hit with a fresh wave of nausea. “I didn’t know until last night,” Tommy had to pause to swallow hard, trying to keep from throwing up.

“Last night? It took you two months to what? Regret this? Miss me?”

“I missed you the moment I left that night. I regretted it before I was even back in my truck-”

“Then why didn’t you come back?” Evan demanded.

“Because you deserved better.” Tommy told Evan sincerely.

“And showing up two months later is better? No. I’m just finally starting to put myself and my life back together. You- you broke me, Tommy. I loved you and you broke me. You don’t get to show up now and screw me up again. Fuck you.”

“You think I don’t know what I did?! Evan I might be an idiot but I’m not stupid- I know I fucked up and I know I waited a long time to figure this out but I need you to hear me out.”

“I don’t need to do anything for you,” Evan started to close the door again.

“We’re gonna be a family!” Tommy said quickly. Even if they hated each other's guts- not that Tommy did or ever could hate Evan- they were having a kid together which made them family.

Evan stopped and looked at Tommy again. “We could’ve been a family- I wanted us to be a family. But this,” Evan gestured between himself and Tommy. “This isn’t a family. Family doesn’t do what you did to me- what you’re doing to me by showing up now. I don’t know what you were thinking when you came over here but we are not and never will be a family.”

Tommy felt his heart sink. It was understandable for Evan to not want anything to do with Tommy, but to want nothing to do with their kid either really hurt. Evan loved kids, but it seemed Tommy had hurt Evan so badly he didn’t even want to be involved in his own kid’s life. Tears gathered in Tommy’s eyes no matter how much he didn’t want them to. “Evan please, I know you’re mad at me but our ki-”

“No. Not buts. I’m not interested.” Evan stood firm.

“If you change your mind-” Tommy started.

“I won’t.” Evan cut him off. “You need to leave.”

Tommy looked at Evan for a moment longer, before giving in and walking away. He hadn’t expected things to go very well, but he hadn’t thought it’d be that bad either. Tears slid down Tommy’s cheeks as he made his way out of the building and as soon as he was outside he threw up again. Tommy sat in his truck for a while and just cried and cried before he finally managed to get himself together enough to drive home.

Tommy spent the next day at home alone, going everything over and over again in his head. He knew he hurt Evan when he left but he hadn’t been trying to hurt him. It was never Tommy’s intention to be malicious or purposely hurtful. He was just afraid and trying to protect his own heart. At least, that’s what he’d intended. Tommy didn’t know if he was more upset with himself that he hurt Evan so badly that Evan didn’t want to be involved in their kid’s life, or mad at Evan that he couldn’t get over the Tommy of it all to at least try and have a relationship with his kid.

Tommy knew he should be reaching out and talking to someone, but he didn’t know who. He had no one. Lucy was on shift and Tommy could already hear her lecture on how irresponsible he’d been- Tommy was well aware all on his own. He loved her, but she wasn’t exactly the shoulder to cry on that he needed right now anyway. Evan was obviously out of the question, and none of Tommy’s friends from the 118 had said a word to him since he broke up with Evan. In the end Tommy turned his phone off before he could do something he really shouldn’t, and put on Love, Actually and tried to just forget everything that was happening for a while.

The next morning Tommy was woken by his alarm. He had a shift even though he really really didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay in bed and be upset but unfortunately such was not possible. He dragged himself out of bed and forced himself to get ready for work. To make matters worse the aching cramps in his lower abdomen were back again and his shoulder was hurting- he figured he slept on it weird- but Tommy managed to push through.

Tommy didn’t know if he should be flying, so when he got to work he told his captain he wasn’t feeling 100% and grounded himself. Thankfully his captain didn’t question it or make a big deal of it. 

There were a few calls right off the bat, so the crew didn’t do their usual morning line-up and chore assignment until a couple hours into Tommy’s shift. Tommy was feeling nauseous again and was feeling a bit light headed, but he kept pushing through. He was assigned maintenance on one of the helicopters with another member of his crew, and they quickly got to work in relative silence.

By the time they were just about finished Tommy was feeling worse, and cramps were getting stronger. He was dizzy and felt more light headed than before. This felt wrong. Something was wrong. He needed to tell someone. Tommy stood up and the pain in his abdomen intensified as his vision blacked out and Tommy fell to the ground.

“Kinard! Come on, stay with us,” A voice called out an indeterminable amount of time later.

Tommy’s head felt heavy and he couldn’t open his eyes. He’d never felt pain like what he felt in his abdomen before now. He knew what it was but couldn’t bear to think about it.

“His pulse is racing.” Someone else commented. “Get him on the lifepak I need to see what his BP is.”

Tommy let the tug of unconsciousness take him again. Next time he came to, he could tell he was on a stretcher in the ambulance. Again, his eyes didn’t open but he could hear what was going on around him.

“All these symptoms present as major blood loss but he’s not bleeding from anywhere. It must be something internal.” Someone said. “Do you know if he’s been injured at all recently?”

“I’m not sure.” Someone else responded.

Tommy shook his head a bit.

“Hey, Tommy, you with us?” The second voice asked. “Does anything hurt?”

Tommy reached up to pull the oxygen mask out of the way. He needed to tell them he was pregnant. Tommy meant to say I’m pregnant and having stomach cramps but all that came out semi-coherently was “Pregnant… cramps.”

“Pregnant? Tommy, do you mean you’re pregnant? How far along are you?”

Again, the full contents of what Tommy meant to say didn’t match what came out clearly enough to be understood. Don’t know for sure. 10 or 11 weeks maybe. “Don’t know… 10, 11 weeks.”

“Okay, we got you. Just hang in there.” They told him.

Tommy felt the tug of unconsciousness again but he had something he needed to say. Evan’s still my emergency contact. Don’t call him. Call Lucy. Don’t call Evan. Please. “Ev… emergency contact, don’t call…Lucy.  …call Evan. Please.” Tommy mumbled before slipping away again.

---

Buck’s eyes flicked over to his phone as it started ringing. He was at home trying to sleep but he could not stop thinking about the fight with Tommy the day before last. He’d been on shift in the time in between and had put it to the back of his mind while working. The caller ID showed West LA Hospital. Buck swallowed thickly and answered as his mind raced with possibilities. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Evan Buckley?” A woman’s voice came over the phone.

“Yes.” Buck confirmed.

“My name is Sheila Rollinson, I’m a nurse at West LA hospital. Someone who has you listed as their emergency contact has been brought into the ER via ambulance and is unconscious, which is why I’m calling you now.”

“Who is it? What’s going on?” Buck asked desperately.

“Thomas Kinard,” She said slowly.

Buck was already trying to think of the kindest way to tell this nurse that he was not interested, that she needed to find someone else to call because Tommy was not a part of Buck’s life anymore by Tommy’s own choice.

“We suspect he’s suffering complications related to his pregnancy, the doctor is with him now.” Sheila continued to explain.

“We’re going to be a family.”

Tommy’s words the other day. It wasn’t ‘we are a family’ or ‘we could be a family’. It was ‘we’re going to be a family’. Tommy was trying to tell Buck he was pregnant. That’s why he suddenly needed to talk to Buck. That’s probably what he meant when he said he realized it last night. Tommy had just found out and one of the first things he did was try to tell Buck.

And Buck was so caught up in his anger he hadn’t even listened to what Tommy had to say. Because if he had he would’ve noticed that wording last night. He would’ve understood what Tommy meant. If he’d been listening he would’ve understood that Tommy was doing all this for their kid. God if Buck had just listened to Tommy Buck wouldn’t have said he wasn’t interested, or that he wouldn’t change his mind. Buck was too angry to even realize he’d told Tommy he wasn’t interested in being a part of their kid’s life. Tommy was crying when he left and Buck did that. Buck caused that by saying he didn’t want anything to do with their child.

Buck felt like he could be sick. This didn’t undo all the hurt Tommy had caused when he broke up with Buck. But this did explain why Tommy contacted Buck two months later. Because while he thought Evan deserved better than him, Tommy knew he owed it to Buck to give Buck a chance to be in their son or daughter’s life. Yesterday wasn’t about Tommy’s wants or needs, it was about the baby. Their baby. No matter how hurt or mad Buck was with him, Tommy was trying to do the right thing now, and Buck needed to do the same.

“Sir? Are you still there?” Sheila’s voice came over the phone.

“Sorry, yes, you were saying?” Buck asked.

“Mr Kinard collapsed at work. We suspect it’s due to some kind of complication with the pregnancy. The doctor is working him up now, but as I mentioned before, Mr Kinard has been unconscious. There doesn’t seem to be an official medical proxy in place for Mr Kinard in his medical records, and according to his employer the paperwork is blank. In this case unless Mr Kinard wakes up we’ll need you to make medical decisions on his behalf.”

Buck was already up out of bed and pulling on clothing appropriate to leave the house in. “Com- complications, what kind of complications?” He asked.

“We should have exact details soon, it’s probably best if we wait until we know for sure what’s going on. Will you be able to come to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I’m on my way.” Buck promised and ended the call.

---

Tommy came to again. He was in a lot of pain and felt very weak and cold. His eyes didn’t open yet, but he could again hear voices.

“We need to get him to surgery now.”

“His emergency contact is on the way but he’s not here yet, there’s no one to sign the consent form.”

“He’s bleeding internally and moments away from hypovolemic shock. If someone doesn’t sign paperwork in the next minute, we’re taking him up anyway, we’ll have the surgeons sign off on emergency consent.” The first voice argued.

Tommy finally found the strength to speak. “Consent for what?”

“Mr Kinard can you hear us?”

Tommy gave a small nod.

“Mr Kinard, your pregnancy is ectopic, I’m sorry to say but the pregnancy is nonviable. It planted outside your uterus in one of your fallopian tubes, and the tube has now ruptured. You’re bleeding internally and we need to take you to surgery right away. We will attempt to repair the tube, but there is a chance we’ll have to remove it. Do you understand?”

Tommy had known since he felt that intense cramping right before he passed out that something was wrong with the pregnancy. He hadn’t really thought of it until it was happening but he’d hoped that maybe he was wrong, or that something could be done. He knew he’d just learned about the pregnancy and there were so many questions left unanswered with regards to actually having the kid but Tommy did want to go through with it. He’d never even considered having biological kids, but he had decided he was going to do it.

“Mr Kinard, are you still with us?”

“Yeah.” Tommy rasped. “There’s no way to save…” Given Tommy’s age this was probably his only chance to have a child.

“No, I’m sorry.”

Tommy was quiet for a moment. “Where’s the form?”

“We’ve got it right here.”

Tommy forced his eyes open, took the pen that was being offered to him and signed his name on the form, then let his eyes fall back shut.

They were quick to start moving him to the OR.

“I didn’t know,” Tommy said as they moved him onto the operating table. “Just found out two days ago. Don’t even know how far along.”

“Based on what we can tell we’d guess about eleven weeks.” Someone told him gently.

“I wasn’t eating right, was drinking,” Tommy scrunched his eyes further shut. 

“Propofol going in now.” Someone else said.

“Pushing myself at the gym. If I’d known…” Tommy felt like he was about to lose consciousness again. “Did I- did I do this?” He asked, and slipped away before he could hear the answer.

---

Buck got himself to the hospital as quickly as he could. The nurse had made it sound like Tommy had no one else and as hurt by Buck was by the break up, he wasn’t going to leave Tommy out to dry. Not when Tommy was alone and needed him. Not to mention their kid-

Buck raced into the ER and towards the desk. “I’m looking for Tommy- Thomas Kinard. I’m his emergency contact. I was called maybe twenty minutes ago.”

“Alright let me see here,” The woman at the desk typed on her computer for a moment. “Can I see some ID please?”

Buck grabbed his wallet, pulled out his driver’s license and showed her.

“Alright. Looks like Mr Kinard was just taken up to surgery. Why don’t you grab a seat for a moment and I’ll have someone come give you some more details?”

Buck nodded slightly in agreement even though he wanted to know what was going on immediately. The several minutes he spent sitting there felt like hours, when finally a nurse approached him. “Mr Buckley?” She asked.

“Buck, please.” Buck told her.

“Buck, I’m Sheila, we spoke on the phone. Why don’t we go somewhere a little quieter to chat?” She suggested. “I can take you to where you can wait for Mr Kinard.”

“Okay.” Buck stood and followed Sheila as they walked away from the busy ER waiting room.

“There’s no easy way to say this, but Mr Kinard’s pregnancy was nonviable. He couldn’t have successfully carried it to term.” Sheila explained. “He woke up for a few moments- long enough to sign a consent form for surgery. He was bleeding internally, he’s in surgery now to remove the fetus and stop the bleeding.”

Buck swallowed hard. 

Tommy lost the baby. Sheila said fetus and not embryo which told Buck that Tommy was at least eleven weeks along. The size of lime. They had fingers and toes and ears and fingernails were forming.

Buck wondered if this was his fault. Had the stress of their fight yesterday caused this? Stress could cause pregnancy loss- Buck had been doing a lot of reading because Maddie was pregnant again and he wanted to be more involved this time. Surely the fight would’ve stressed Tommy out, probably also caused his blood pressure to spike- another thing not good for pregnancy. “Did I do this?” He suddenly asked.

“Oh my dear,” Sheila said gently. “No, this wasn’t your fault.”

“But me and Tommy got in an argument the day before yesterday, the stress-” Buck told her.

“The pregnancy was ectopic- rather than implanting in the uterus, the egg implanted in his fallopian tube. This would’ve happened eventually no matter what. No one caused this to happen, Buck. Unfortunately sometimes these things just happen, and it’s awful and it’s heartbreaking, but it’s no one’s fault.” Sheila explained.

“Is- is Tommy going to be okay?” Buck asked.

“He’s lost a lot of blood, and they may need to remove the fallopian tube if the damage is significant enough, but he’s in excellent hands.” Sheila reassured. “You can wait for him to come out of surgery here. I’ll make sure to let the team in the OR know you’re waiting here for news.”

“Thanks.” Buck mumbled.

“Of course.” Sheila nodded and left Buck.

Buck sat down and put his head in his hands as tears began to fall. Tears for the baby, for Tommy, for himself, for what would’ve been, for what could’ve been, for what should’ve been.

---

Tommy briefly woke up in the post-op recovery area. The doctor explained that they’d taken the fallopian tube and Tommy was still receiving a blood transfusion, but he’d make a full recovery. Tommy didn’t find much peace in that, and quickly fell back asleep.

The next time Tommy woke up he was in a regular hospital room. He was sore from surgery, but that pain had nothing on the heartbreak he was feeling. He finally opened his eyes and saw Evan was sitting next to his bed, fighting with himself to not fall asleep. Tommy swallowed thickly. His throat was sore and mouth was dry, but he managed to speak. “I lost it, you know. You’re off the hook.”

Evan’s head whipped up and he looked at Tommy. His eyes looked red-rimmed and puffy from crying. He sat up straighter and shifted to the edge of his chair, a little closer to Tommy even if only by inches. “I know,” He said softly. “I’m here for you.”

“I tried to tell them not to call you, I didn’t mean to drag you into this.” Tommy told him. “You can leave, I don’t expect you to stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Tommy.” Evan insisted.

Tommy just looked at Evan and said nothing. They were silent for several minutes until Tommy spoke again as tears welled up in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Evan asked gently.

“For- for losing the,” Tommy had never even called it what it was until now. “The baby. It’s all my fault-”

“Hey, no.” Evan scooted closer to Tommy’s bed and hesitated for a moment before reaching for Tommy’s hand. “Tommy it was wrong from the very start, nothing you did or didn’t do could’ve prevented this.”

Tommy looked down at Evan’s hand, holding his own ever so gently. “I wanted it. With or without you around I- I wanted it.” Tears slid down Tommy’s cheeks.

“I know. I wanted it too- I didn’t understand what you meant the other night until I got the call that you were here. I never meant to say I wasn’t interested. If I’d been thinking clearly enough to understand what you were saying I never would’ve said that, and I’m sorry I did.”

Tommy nodded slightly and they were silent again for a while. “For the record I- I loved you too, Evan.”

Evan looked at Tommy with a sad expression. “I understand that now. I- I didn’t before, but now I do.”

Tommy gave Evan’s hand a small squeeze. He could feel his eyelids drooping as sleep threatened to take him again.

“We don’t have to talk about this right now. Just rest, okay?” Evan told him. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” Tommy whispered.

“I promise.” Evan confirmed.

Tommy squeezed Evan’s hand again and let sleep take over. His heart was still broken, but he felt a little less awful knowing Evan would be there when he woke up, and for now, that would be enough.

[thepro-lifemovement]

quick question- do you know what an ectopic pregnancy is? one of your recent posts you were celebrating that Wyoming does not allow for termination of an ectopic pregnancy, so I'm wondering if you know what it is

Yes I do. I have a friend who has had an ectopic pregnancy. You need to read the actual bill before making assumptions.

Women with ectopic pregnancies in Wyoming will still be treated because it’s not an abortion.

-Sarah

[claraameliapond]

Here's Why Abortion Is Essential Health Care

[spurgie-cousin]

I’ve been following Alex from Growing Goodings for a while on Insta and saw her post about her ectopic pregnancy. She acknowledged that she could die from it but is still proceeding with it. It’s so wild to me that she’d put herself at risk. She has 7 children as is. Like why does she need to do this?

I'm adding some additions I saw from @nerdfundiefollower @duggarsetal and @justhereforfundies to add some context bc it sounds like they have more knowledge about the situation than I do:

-------------------------------

I'm glad that it seems to be the case that she maybe didn't describe her exact situation correctly, and isn't essentially choosing *certain* death, although it sounds like she's very high risk regardless which is still extremely concerning.

Overall, it just really sucks that right-wing extremism has convinced so many women that this kind of choice is a noble one. I don't understand the logic behind people who structure their whole lives around having kids putting themselves at such a preventable risk, and possibly orphaning said kids just to prove a political point. It's genuinely, genuinely depressing and I hope her many children don't lose a parent over this cult-y arrogance.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Eleanor Klibanoff at Texas Tribune:

Two women have filed federal complaints against Texas hospitals they say refused to treat their ectopic pregnancies, leading both women to lose their fallopian tubes and endanger their future fertility. Texas law allows doctors to terminate ectopic pregnancies, a condition in which the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tubes, instead of the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are always non-viable and can quickly become life-threatening if left untreated. Despite these protections, these women say they were turned away from two separate hospitals that refused to treat them. The complaint alleges that the doctors and hospitals are so fearful of the state’s abortion laws, which carry penalties of up to life in prison when violated, that they are hesitating to perform even protected abortions.

The complaints were filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, a federal statute that requires hospitals to provide stabilizing medical care to anyone who shows up. That rule has long been interpreted to include medically necessary abortions, which has run up against state bans, including in Texas. Typically, federal EMTALA complaints are investigated by state health agencies, but the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the complaint, is asking for it to instead be handled by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. “CMS should not rely solely on a state agency’s assessment of the facts in reaching its determination because of Texas state officials’ hostility toward interpreting EMTALA as requiring hospitals to provide pregnancy termination to pregnant patients experiencing emergency medical conditions,” they wrote in the complaints. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year declined to say that Idaho’s abortion ban trumps the EMTALA requirement, but a federal appeals court in New Orleans has found that Texas hospitals cannot be required under EMTALA to provide life-saving abortions.

Similar diagnoses, similar results

Kyleigh Thurman says in the complaint that she went to Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital in Round Rock, north of Austin, with a tubal ectopic pregnancy. She says the hospital initially discharged her without treating the ectopic pregnancy, but she returned three days later with vaginal bleeding and worsening symptoms. Despite her doctor’s orders, the hospital refused to give her methotrexate, a common treatment that stops an ectopic pregnancy from continuing to develop. “Infuriated, Ms. Thurman’s OB-GYN met Ms. Thurman at Ascension Williamson to plead with the medical staff to give her methotrexate,” the complaint says. They eventually agreed. But it was too late; the ectopic pregnancy had grown too large, and ruptured. Thurman nearly bled to death and had to have her right fallopian tube removed. A spokesperson for Ascension declined to discuss the specifics of the case, but said in a statement that they are “committed to providing high-quality care to all who seek our services.”

Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz had a similar experience at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, outside Dallas. An emergency room physician diagnosed her with a tubal ectopic pregnancy and said she should get an injection of methotrexate or have surgery to remove the pregnancy. She chose surgery, but once the on-call OB/GYNs arrived, the complaint alleges, the hospital refused to treat her and told her to come back in 48 hours. “Ms. Norris-De La Cruz’s mother asked if the hospital’s refusal to provide care had anything to do with Texas’s abortion bans but received no response,” the complaint says. “As the conversation became more heated, the OB/GYN confirmed it was possible that Ms. Norris-De La Cruz could rupture over the next 48 hours and subsequently stormed out of the room.” Texas Health did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Norris-De La Cruz eventually found an OB/GYN through a friend who agreed to perform an emergency surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy. By then, the mass had grown so large that it required also removing her right fallopian tube and 75% of her right ovary. “I ended up losing half of my fertility and if I was made to wait any longer, it’s very likely I would have died,” Norris-De La Cruz said in a statement. “These bans are making it nearly impossible to get basic emergency healthcare. So, I’m filing this complaint because women like me deserve justice and accountability from those that hurt us. Texas state officials can’t keep ignoring us. We can’t let them.”

Two Texas women, Kyleigh Thurman and Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz, filed federal EMTALA complaints against 2 Texas hospitals over refusal to treat ectopic pregnancies as a result of Texas’s strict anti-abortion laws.

See Also:

The 19th News: Two women say Texas hospitals wouldn’t treat their ectopic pregnancies. Each lost a fallopian tube as a result.

Jezebel: Texas Women Denied Care for Ectopic Pregnancies Due to State’s Abortion Ban Take Legal Action

[atheostic]

How to tell someone you know nothing about evolution without saying you know nothing about evolution (3/?)

"Humans are perfectly designed!"

=-=-=-=

There's a gap between the ovaries and the fallopian tubes, which often leads to fertilized eggs implanting outside the uterus (because it missed the fallopian tube entrance).

An embryo implanting outside the uterus means that the embryo is guaranteed to not survive and that the pregnant individual is also 100% absolutely guaranteed to die if the embryo is not removed/aborted.

Most fertilized eggs don't successfully implant in the womb and are washed away with period blood without the pregnant person being any wiser about it.

Our spine's structure is perfect for walking on all fours, not on two legs, which means that, as we age, our backs are guaranteed to have health issues.

This would not happen if we walked on all fours.

As we age, our eyes' lenses lose their structural integrity and bend out of shape, causing people to need glasses in order to be able to see properly.

About 75% of adults need to use some kind of vision correction.

And some of us, like myself, have needed glasses since toddlerhood otherwise we'd be legally blind because our lenses were misshapen from birth.

We eat/drink and breathe out of the same body part, making choking and aspirating food and drink very common and likely.

Hundreds of thousands of people die by choking on something every year. In 2020 in Canada it was 3,000, in Japan it's about 4,000 yearly, in the US it tends to vary between 4,000 and 5,000 people, with an average of 140 being children.

[stormbbyx]

An ectopic pregnancy:

A pregnancy that implants itself outside of the uterus.

A pregnancy that is not viable. A pregnancy that cannot be saved. A pregnancy that if left without treatment could be fatal to the mother carrying the baby…

A pregnancy that is left to grow in a mother’s body until their body disposes of it or until they require medical intervention.

My heart break is that I’m holding onto a little human that I can’t bring to this world.

[canadian-snow-queen]

I love Elder Uchdorf, but this talk is being hard for me. I suffered an ectopic pregnancy rupture a month ago and as such I loss my pregnancy and a fallopian tube. So this talk about parenthood is making my heart cry because of the fact I loss my baby and my heart and soul is still yearning for them. I know parenthood is important but it still stings

[hunybaby]

Tomorrow marks a year since I had my ectopic pregnancy and found out I could no longer have children naturally. It’s been a year full of grief, hurt, anger, healing, love, therapy, joy, adventures, and so much more. I’m happy for how far I’ve come, but I still struggle. Moving on has been a little easier, most days. I’m giving myself the biggest and sweetest hug this week.🫂 reminder to be gentle to yourself

[fallenoutoflove]

What’s wild is what kept me alive as a teen was the possibility to have children. I loved kids, I loved my little brother so much. Those were my two big reasons to not committing suicide, as I wanted one more than life itself. Now, I have a huge cyst on my fallopian tube and potentially ovary. I was made aware if I do get surgery it increases my chance for an ectopic pregnancy and I also would have the chance of losing the tube and the ovary. (Thank god women have 2)

And my brother and I aren’t as close now that he’s a little man living life. Funny how life works, staying around till you’re ready to have kids and now I have a huge cyst impacting that.