Arlington hospital refused to treat ectopic pregnancy, woman says in complaint

An Arlington hospital refused to treat a woman who was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, according to an administrative complaint filed against the hospital last week.

Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz, 25, reported that Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital refused to treat her in February when she showed up in the emergency room passing blood clots and in intense pain. When Norris-De La Cruz requested treatment for the ectopic pregnancy to prevent it from rupturing her fallopian tube, two doctors at the Arlington hospital refused to perform surgery and told her to return to the hospital in 48 hours for more blood tests, according to her complaint.

The Arlington hospital is one of more than a dozen operated by the nonprofit Texas Health Resources. Spokespeople for Texas Health Resources did not immediately respond to an email or phone message asking for comment on the complaint.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg is implanted outside of the uterus, and it can never result in a live birth of a child, said Dr. Stephen Chasen, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Left untreated, ectopic pregnancies can rupture the fallopian tube and become life-threatening, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“You can’t have a pregnancy in the fallopian tube result in the live birth of a child,” Chasen said. “It’s 100% impossible.”

Norris-De La Cruz, who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is accusing Texas Health Arlington Memorial of violating a federal law that requires most hospitals to treat any patient experiencing a medical emergency. If the hospital is unable to stabilize the patient during the emergency, the law requires hospitals to transfer the patient to a hospital that is capable of doing so.

The law — the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act — has been the focus of intense scrutiny since the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. was overturned in 2022. President Joe Biden’s administration had argued that the law requires hospitals to provide abortions in emergencies if they are necessary to save the pregnant patient’s life, even if state law prohibits abortions. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortions could be provided in Idaho hospitals if they were necessary to save the patient’s life. The ruling is temporary, and the case now returns to a federal district court judge.

In Texas, almost all abortions are illegal, except in cases where the patient is at risk of a life-threatening physical condition. Under Texas state law, removal of an ectopic pregnancy is not considered an abortion and is permissible.

Norris-De La Cruz, a local college student, realized she was pregnant in January, according to the complaint. With her boyfriend, Norris-De La Cruz began to plan for the baby. But in her the early weeks of her pregnancy, Norris-De La Cruz repeatedly experienced cramping and vaginal bleeding. Sometimes the pain was so severe that she struggled to stand, the complaint said.

Norris-De La Cruz went to the emergency room at Texas Health Arlington on Feb. 12, after staff at her college’s health center urged her to seek emergency treatment. Norris-De La Cruz had been passing blood clots, and was experiencing severe pain on her right side, according to her complaint.

At the emergency room, hospital staff completed an ultrasound and performed blood tests. The ultrasound showed a six-centimeter mass, but no intrauterine sac, pointing to a likely ectopic pregnancy, according to the complaint. The hospital’s ER physician outlined Norris-De La Cruz’s options: She could either have surgery to remove the pregnancy or take medication that stop the pregnancy from growing. Because Norris-De La Cruz had experienced prior miscarriages, she opted for surgery, which would allow for the procedure to be completed that day.

But after Norris-De La Cruz said she preferred a surgical route, “Texas Health Arlington refused to provide (her) with any treatment for her pregnancy.” Early in the hours of Feb. 13, a second OB-GYN also declined to perform surgery, and told Norris-De La Cruz to return to the emergency room in 48 hours for more tests, according to the complaint.

Norris-De La Cruz ultimately left Texas Health Arlington Memorial was examined by a friend’s doctor, who diagnosed the ectopic pregnancy and performed surgery later in the evening of Feb. 13.

“These bans are making it nearly impossible to get basic emergency health care,” Norris-De La Cruz said in a statement. “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.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the complaint on Norris-De La Cruz’s behalf, in addition to a second, similar complaint against a hospital in Round Rock, Texas. The Center has represented multiple Texas women who have filed complaints or lawsuits over their medical care since abortion was largely outlawed in the state two years ago.

Once diagnosed, the standard of care for ectopic pregnancies is typically clear cut, said Dr. Stephen Chasen, the maternal-fetal medicine specialist.

If left untreated, an ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube like Norris-De La Cruz’s could continue to grow so large it could rupture the fallopian tube, which could in turn cause life-threatening internal bleeding.

“The mantra that generations of us learned is: Don’t let the sun set on an ectopic pregnancy,” Chasen said.

Instead, you treat it immediately, he said.