ICYMI: Heather Martell Addresses House Members on the Dangers of Extreme Abortion Bans at Spotlight Hearing
The hearing on “Republican Attacks on Reproductive Freedom” marked three years since the deadly Dobbs decision.
Washington, DC –– Today, Free & Just storyteller, Heather Martell, joined House Leadership, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, at a spotlight hearing on the devastating consequences of abortion bans following the deadly Dobbs decision.
The hearing follows the Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Future: Free & Just Storyteller Summit, where Free & Just hosted more than 100 patient storytellers including Heather, health care providers, and advocates from 32 states across the country to amplify the human cost of abortion bans and mark the third anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court ruled that states can block people relying on Medicaid from choosing Planned Parenthood as their trusted health care provider, a devastating blow to abortion rights and reproductive health care – specifically, the freedom of millions of people who use Medicaid to choose Planned Parenthood as their health care provider.
At the hearing, Heather shared her story with House Democratic members and highlighted the need to fight for reproductive freedom, defend against government overreach, and keep extremist politicians out of decisions made between doctors and their patients.
Watch full remarks here, Highlights below:
“2006 was the first time I was pregnant. I wanted to keep my baby. I had named my baby Lucy. I miscarried. My OBGYN, unknown to me at the time, was a member of a professional organization of Pro-Life doctors. She refused to treat my miscarriage. She refused to see me while I was still bleeding. She refused to refer me to another doctor – in fact, she went as far as to cancel an appointment I made with another OBGYN at the same clinic.
When asked what would happen if I went to the ER, I was told that my OBGYN would be called, and I would be discharged. I had an incomplete miscarriage. I bled for weeks – From March 17 until mid-May. Giant clots. Bleeding through at least a pad an hour at times. I was so weak, I often couldn’t get out of bed. I called my OBGYN and begged for help, a D&C, medication, anything. I was met with hostility and told not to call again until I was no longer bleeding. I could have died, because of a Pro-Life OBGYN. These are the same doctors that advise the GOP and support abortion bans. They don’t care about their patients. They don’t care if we live or die. Mine certainly didn’t. I was barely 19 years old at the time.
In 2008, I had my son. A beautiful baby boy. The people in my life, my mother, and the man that impregnated me, tried to pressure me into an abortion. I stood my ground, and I thank God every day that I did. Being Pro-Choice doesn’t mean aborting every pregnancy. It means “mind your own business.”
“After years of struggling with infertility, and the costly, invasive infertility treatments, we conceived, naturally, in 2021. His name was Oliver. A mother knows when something isn’t right. The entire pregnancy, I felt as though something was off. So, we tested.
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“If our baby made it to delivery, he would suffer a horrible, prolonged death, and we would bankrupt ourselves – financially, mentally and emotionally – to try to make Oliver’s only moments with us less physically painful for him.
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“We made the choice, as Oliver’s parents, that we could not let him suffer. That it would be better for all of us, Oliver included, if we provided him with a good death, a quick death, before his brain had a chance to develop pain receptors. Oliver would never know pain, discomfort, hunger, cold, loneliness, or fear….
Fetal death was quick. A shot of digoxin to the heart and he was gone in seconds. The next day, he was surgically removed from my body. We had to leave our home, our community, our State, to receive medical care. If I could not access abortion care, I was prepared to kill myself to prevent my son’s suffering.”
“Shame on Republican lawmakers for even suggesting that because I did the right thing for my son, Oliver, I should be imprisoned or, according to some politicians, even put to death. Shame on them for attempting to criminalize abortion and miscarriage. Shame on the American people for allowing this. My plea today is that you fight government overreach and interference, and you let mothers be mothers. They know what is best for their children, their families and themselves.”
If you are interested in speaking with Heather Martell about her experience in DC during the hearing or summit, or as a storyteller based in Wisconsin living in a post Roe world, please contact kelly@freeandjust.us. If you are interested in learning more about the research gathered regarding state-level abortion bans and federal activity, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us.
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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.