Woman Who Lost Half Her Blood Thanks to Abortion Ban Tells DNC ‘We Can Choose a Different Future’

In 2022, Anya Cook miscarried at 16 weeks in Florida and a hospital turned her away.

By Susan Rinkunas  |  August 23, 2024 | 1:25am
Photo: Getty Images AbortionPolitics Democratic National Convention
Woman Who Lost Half Her Blood Thanks to Abortion Ban Tells DNC ‘We Can Choose a Different Future’

CHICAGO — On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, a Florida woman shared the story of how her state’s abortion ban jeopardized her life.

Anya Cook took the stage with her husband Derick and infant daughter Anaya and explained how, in December 2022, her water broke too early for the baby to survive. (She experienced what’s known as pre-viability premature rupture of the membranes, or PPROM.)

A hospital turned her away because the state’s abortion ban meant they couldn’t induce her. The next day, Cook ended up miscarrying in the bathroom of a hair salon. Her husband had to sever the umbilical cord by pulling it apart with his hands.

She said:

“Two years ago, a miscarriage nearly killed me. At 16 weeks, my doctors told me to prepare for a stillbirth. I needed care, but my state’s abortion restrictions kept it from me. I miscarried in a bathroom. I’ll never forget my husband’s face as he tried to stop the bleeding, trying to do what doctors should have been doing. When I reached the hospital, I’d lost nearly half the blood in my body. I can’t change the past, but I can—we can—choose a different future.”

Here’s a clip:

Women have spoken every single night at the DNC this week about the impact of abortion bans. Three women who experienced dangerous pregnancies spoke on Monday: Kaitlyn Joshua from Louisiana, Amanda Zurawski from Texas, and Hadley Duvall from Kentucky

During the Tuesday roll call vote, Texas mom Kate Cox shared how the state Supreme Court denied her request to terminate a nonviable, dangerous pregnancy. (She traveled to another state to end her pregnancy and told Jezebel: “I’m pregnant today because I got access to abortion care.”)

On Wednesday, former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told the story of a Mississippi middle-schooler who gave birth to a rape-induced pregnancy.

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