IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE MUCH. Just a fuzzy gray dot on the ultrasound. But the speck was an early sign that one of Ashley Brandt’s twins had acrania, a rare neurological disorder that is 100 percent lethal. Brandt needed to abort the unviable fetus to increase the other twin’s chance of survival. Because she lived in Texas, Brandt furtively crossed state lines in order to receive abortion care at 14 weeks pregnant. “It was all hush-hush, very secretive,” she says. Back home, doctors wouldn’t acknowledge what had happened, and her medical records incorrectly listed a “spontaneous abortion,” the medical term for a miscarriage. Now on the other side with a healthy eight-month-old baby girl, Brandt is done being made to feel afraid and guilty. “There’s nothing anyone can say to make me feel bad,” she says. “It saved my daughter’s life. She wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have an abortion.”
Brandt is one of 15 women suing the state of Texas. Thirteen of those women, including one who is an obstetrician herself, were refused abortion care despite complications that made it unsafe or even deadly to stay pregnant. Two others are ob-gyns suing because they say the law bars them from offering necessary care to their patients. The lead plaintiff, Amanda Zurawski, became septic before her life was deemed at risk enough for an abortion. “I was dying, essentially,” Zurawski says.
Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av ELLE US.
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Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av ELLE US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Surreal Life of Tyla - Inside the dizzying, meteoric rise of a true African pop star.
The night before the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tyla was unusually calm. The South African singer was about to give a surprise performance at the Prelude to the Olympics, held at the Fondation Louis Vuitton and attended by celebrities from Zendaya to LeBron James.I was asked to do the event by Pharrell [Williams, Louis Vuitton Men's creative director], so it was insane-an instant 'Yes, she says. Sometimes I'm nervous, like I'm really nervous. But this time, Tyla looked forward to the show the entire day.
Wellness - Amazing Grace - Actress Toks Olagundoye was making people laugh on TV while managing intense treatments for breast cancer.
My work makes me really happy, says Toks Olagundoye, an acting veteran who plays Olivia Finch on the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier. That's one reason she stuck with the hit show's first season despite a shock diagnosis: During the course of preparing for and filming the series, as well as Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction, she underwent chemotherapy and six surgeries to treat breast cancer. Feeling healthy ahead of Frasier's Season 2 launch on September 19, she talks to ELLE about her healing story.
Shanghai Rising - An international fashion presence and an appreciation for the city's own talent are powering a renaissance in China's largest city.
A year ago, Louis Vuitton wrapped the giant warehouse space housing Fotografiska Shanghai in electric blue. The occasion? "Nóng Hó, Shanghai" (Shanghainese for "Hello, Shanghai"), a four-week cultural festival of book clubs, architecture tours, and live music to promote the maison's City Guide Series. "Everything was built in 48 hours, whereas in London that would've taken weeks," says Shem Jacobs, a recent transplant to Shanghai and Fotografiska's director of partnerships, Asia. "The efficiency here is really amazing."
The Power of Kindness
To mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, Lauren Sánchez and Nina Garcia come together for a conversation about identity, education, and civility.
The Gift of Ketanji Brown Jackson
In an exclusive profile and a new memoir, the history-making Supreme Court justice is telling her story.
Gaining Momentum
Vaccines, targeted meds, and a new way to stop hair loss? Breast cancer research is reaching a breakthrough point.
The Miami Glam Squad
The city's rising cohort of beauty entrepreneurs is leading the Latine beauty boom.
Golden DAYS
Tiffany & Co. pays tribute to Elsa Peretti's legacy.
THE CULT OF COZY SEASON
Forget \"New year, new you.\" Fall has us all turning over a new sartorial leaf.
Scarlet WOMAN
For one Latina novelist, reclaiming the color red turns out to be the ultimate power move.
