Callie Beale: The Dobbs Decision Nearly Cost Me My Life
By Callie Beale
My name is Callie. I am an artist, a lifelong follower of Jesus, and a devoted mother to my son, Isaac, and my daughter, Kit. Two years ago, I found out I was pregnant with twins. After the initial shock wore off, I began dreaming about what life would soon look like with them. I immediately researched double carriers and how to best handle nighttime feedings with two babies. That hope was soon met with the devastating reality of being pregnant in a post-Roe world.
Today marks three years since the Supreme Court’s deadly Dobbs decision, which ripped away the right to safe and legal abortion in the United States. It’s a painful anniversary for people like me, whose lives have been upended by abortion bans and attacks on reproductive freedom over the past three years.
In April 2023, when I was pregnant with twins, I opted for noninvasive prenatal testing as soon as it was available. Two weeks after my appointment, I learned that my baby boy was in danger. As soon as the ultrasound technician located my son on the sonogram, I immediately knew that things were very, very wrong.
My doctor at the time explained that my son had multiple structural abnormalities that made him “incompatible with life.” My heart was broken when a maternal-fetal specialist confirmed my worst fears.
My baby boy wouldn’t survive to birth.
Grieving, my focus immediately shifted to protecting the other twin I was carrying. I couldn’t change the outcome for my son, but I would do anything to keep my baby girl safe and healthy. I knew that a “selective reduction” was in the best interest of myself and my daughter, and my specialist agreed, but he advised me to seek care outside of Georgia. Our state’s abortion ban left his hands tied and put me and my healthy baby at risk.
I knew that abortion was banned in Georgia after the fall of Roe v. Wade, but I was certain that the so-called “exceptions” to the state’s ban would apply. With my baby boy deemed “non-viable” and both my daughter’s and my lives at risk, I thought that surely I would be able to get the care I needed at home in Georgia.
I was wrong. Georgia’s abortion ban was so strict that my doctor couldn’t even refer me to another provider for help.
Desperate, I found appointments in three different states, taking the advice of my physician’s office not to cancel any of them until after the procedure had been completed. Ultimately, I found a doctor who could help me in New York City, but the first available appointment was four weeks out.
Waiting for care was dangerous, but I had no other choice. Every day was a fight to keep myself and my daughter healthy. Unfortunately, I endured this largely on my own while my husband was forced to continue working so we could keep our health insurance.
What happened next was unimaginable. My lactate levels and my white blood count levels skyrocketed – I was developing sepsis, an extremely serious and life-threatening infection.
The trauma, the fear, the pain – it was unbearable. The sheer terror of not knowing if I would survive, if my daughter would survive – all of it was a direct consequence of an abortion ban that failed to recognize the urgent realities of maternal health care.
In October 2023, my daughter was born dangerously premature at 27 weeks. Because of what we went through while I was pregnant, Kit was born with a brain bleed, lung issues, and retinopathy, a condition that affects the blood vessels in her eyes. Kit is a miracle, and every day I am grateful to be her mother.
Ultimately, I do not blame any of my doctors or health care providers. I can still name every single nurse who cared for me during my pregnancy, and I am forever grateful to them. I blame the lawmakers who undermined their medical expertise, tied their hands, and put politics over patients. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade three years ago nearly cost me my life and my daughter hers, and every new attack on abortion access feels like a slap in the face to mothers like me.
In the last three years, I’ve heard countless politicians celebrate the deadly Dobbs decision as a “win” for states’ rights. But the reality is that when abortion is “left up to the states,” women die. After what my family went through, it hurts to know that President Trump and Republican lawmakers want to roll back our rights even further.
That’s why this week I joined over 100 storytellers from across the country to come to Washington, D.C. for the Our Voices, Our Stories, Our Future: Free & Just Storyteller Summit. While visiting the nation’s capital, I developed my voice and advocacy skills, built a community with fellow abortion storytellers, and made sure Members of Congress and Americans nationwide understand the impact the Dobbs decision has had on our communities.
People across the country are enduring devastating loss and fear because of ongoing attacks on access to reproductive health care. The liberties and freedoms that we should be enjoying in this country must extend to having bodily autonomy — keeping lawmakers out of important decisions between doctors and patients.
I understand that deeply held beliefs shape how many people view abortion—but what happened to me can, and will, happen regardless of those beliefs. If it were your sister, your daughter, your best friend, or your granddaughter in my place, wouldn’t you want them to receive the care they need to survive? Now is the time to listen to stories like mine, so we don’t lose any more lives due to abortion bans.
Callie Beale Harper is a Free & Just storyteller and artist from Savannah, GA who was forced to go out-of-state for a medically necessary procedure for her twin pregnancy, causing a dangerous delay in care that jeopardized her life and her daughter. She has since been an outspoken advocate for reproductive freedom through engagement with elected officials, content creation, and local advocacy.
Image Credit: Benjamin Payne / GPB News
