"I don't want to die trying to have a baby."
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2023
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, we look at how vague language in antiabortion laws has disrupted the standard of care for a pregnancy complication called PPROM.
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Anya Cook wants a baby more than anything. She and her husband, Derick, live in Florida. They experienced a long line of miscarriages. Then last fall, they tried IVF, and they got further in their pregnancy than ever before. Cook found herself shopping for baby clothes and maternity swimsuits. But then her water broke at 16 weeks; this was the beginning of a harrowing medical experience for Cook.
Last week, Florida passed a bill that will enact a stricter abortion ban in the state; abortions are only legal through the first six weeks of a pregnancy. The law does have exceptions for fetal anomalies, rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger. But while these exceptions seem clear-cut, in reality, the way they are written into the law is vague. Reporter Caroline Kitchener tells us the story of Anya Cook, a woman whose complicated pregnancy got stuck in the gray area of Florida’s abortion ban.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A quick warning before the show. |
| 0:05.0 | This story includes some strong language and graphic descriptions that may be upsetting |
| 0:09.6 | to hear. |
| 0:10.6 | So please take care while listening. |
| 0:13.6 | Ania is 36 years old. |
| 0:17.2 | She lives in the Fort Lauderdale area. |
| 0:20.4 | Gosh, right off the bat, it's like so clear. |
| 0:23.0 | Ania is all about family. |
| 0:26.4 | She's really close with her mom and her sister and she has this niece that she adores and |
| 0:34.0 | she wants a baby so badly. |
| 0:36.1 | I don't think I've ever met anybody who wants a baby as much as Ania does. |
| 0:40.4 | That's Caroline Kitchener. |
| 0:42.0 | She covers abortion for the post. |
| 0:44.3 | She says that Ania Cook and her husband, Derek, started trying to get pregnant in 2020. |
| 0:50.3 | And one day, Derek woke up from a nap with a clear image of their future. |
| 0:55.4 | He had a dream while he was taking this nap that they had a little girl and he woke |
| 1:00.4 | up and he just said, Ania, go take a test. |
| 1:08.9 | And I'm expecting for it to say not pregnant. |
| 1:11.4 | And the fact that it said pregnant, I freaked out. |
| 1:19.0 | Where were you, what were you feeling in that moment? |
| 1:21.1 | That was the, I think that was one of the top five moments of happiness I've ever had in my entire life. |
| 1:27.8 | And Derek took out his phone and he took a video of Ania. |
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