Tennessee woman denied abortion of fetus who 'would be born dead and without skull bones'

A Tennessee woman has voiced her outrage at being denied an abortion, despite her fetus suffering a fatal condition that would see the baby born dead and without part of its skull.

Breanna Cecil, 34, ended up losing an ovary, fallopian tube and her dreams of a large family due to delayed treatment resulting from the strict anti-abortion laws - which deny abortion if the fetus still has a heartbeat.

The mother-of-one's fetus was diagnosed with acrania in January 2023 - a deadly condition where the developing baby lacks skull bones.

'The state of Tennessee took my fertility from me,' Ms Cecil, a dietitian, said.

Breanna Cecil, 34, ended up losing an ovary, fallopian tube and her dreams of a large family due to the strict anti-abortion laws

Tennessee's near-total abortion ban stops anyone from having an abortion if the fetus still has a heartbeat, which Ms Cecil's did

State lawmakers, 'took away my opportunity to have a family like my own biological family because of these horrible laws that they put in place,' she told The Independent.

At the time of her first ultrasound, 12 weeks into her pregnancy, she was told by doctors that the fetus was not viable outside the womb.

She asked the doctor what she should do, and he did not know how to answer her question, she recalled.

Anencephaly is the absence of the upper portion of the fetal brain, which is thought to result from acrania

Her choices were limited as Tennessee's near-total ban stops anyone from having an abortion if the fetus still has a heartbeat, as Ms Cecil's did.

The law had no exceptions for fatal conditions like acrania, and doctors who perform abortions outside of the allowed exceptions may face prison time.

She had another ultrasound, which she said was heartbreaking because the seriousness of the baby's condition was clear.

'I could see the brain was not attached,' Ms Cecil said.

Doctors told her that if she continued with the pregnancy, the child would 'most likely die inside of me before 20 weeks' and she would have to deliver a stillborn.

Ms Cecil had begun to show a bump and was crushed by well-meaning questions  about the baby's due date and sex. She decided to get an abortion outside of the state.

Getting an appointment for one took 'sobbing to receptionists' at around 20 clinics and hospitals, but she finally found on in Chicago and had an abortion on February 3.

But just six days after going back to Tennessee, she began suffering a fever and back pain. 

Antibiotics did not help, so she had another ultrasound.

The doctor found leftover tissue from the fetus inside her, which can have serious consequences such as bleeding and infection. 

Ms Cecil underwent another procedure to clear the remaining tissue.

But when her fever did not subside, she went back to the hospital, where doctors found she had a nine-centimeter-sized abscess in her abdomen that was encompassing some of her reproductive organs.

She had to have emergency surgery to remove her right ovary and fallopian tube and had to stay for a difficult 10 days in the hospital.

Ms Cecil and her husband were devastated, having spent close to a year trying to conceive the pregnancy. 

They have not been able to get pregnant since her emergency surgery.