Nevaeh Crain, an 18-year-old from southeast Texas, always dreamed of having a daughter to emulate her relationship with her mother, Candace Fails. In May 2023, Nevaeh learned soon after her high school graduation that she was pregnant. Her boyfriend of two years, Randall Broussard, had earlier in the year given her a small diamond ring as a promise of his love, and the couple had already imagined starting a family together despite their youth. Nevaeh and Candace spoke endlessly about the baby girl on the way whom the couple had decided to name Lillian.
On the morning of her bridal shower, Nevaeh woke up with a headache that progressed to nausea and vomiting throughout the party. By the afternoon, her family decided she needed to go to the hospital. Randall took Nevaeh to the emergency room where, after waiting for four hours, she was diagnosed with strep throat and discharged from the hospital with antibiotics. Doctors did not address her vomiting and abdominal pain despite her being six months pregnant. A few hours after returning home, Nevaeh awoke her mother with significant abdominal pain, prompting Candace to drive Randal and Nevaeh to a different hospital in town. With a high temperature and abnormally high pulse recorded, her vital signs pointed toward possible sepsis. At this point, doctors confirmed a fetal heartbeat and after two hours of IV fluids, discharged Nevaeh with another prescription despite her persistent high pulse and her fetus’ abnormally fast heartbeat. Unable to walk and breathing heavily, Nevaeh left the hospital via wheelchair and returned home for the night. Early the next morning, Nevaeh began bleeding, prompting Candace to believe a miscarriage was inevitable and brought her back to the hospital. Doctors performed an ultrasound and confirmed there was no fetal heartbeat. Despite Nevaeh’s symptoms having progressed, her care continued to be exclusively antibiotics. A half hour later, Nevaeh began having significant bleeding and contractions. However, instead of rushing Nevaeh to the operating room, doctors requested another ultrasound in order to capture an image confirming “fetal demise” as evidence of adherence to Texas abortion law. At this point, Nevaeh’s organs were failing as her blood pressure plummeted and she drifted in and out of consciousness. After three separate ER visits and 20 hours of delayed care, Nevaeh was too ill for doctors to operate, and shortly thereafter she died from complications from sepsis.
Candace lost her best friend, and Randall lost the love of his life. Had doctors intervened sooner, Nevaeh and Lillian may have been saved. Before her death, Nevaeh used to speak of her Christain values driving her anti-abortion stance, though with noted exceptions for rape and life-threatening illness. Candace had pleaded to doctors to save her daughter even if it meant losing Lillian, but Texas laws made them more consumed with monitoring fetal heartbeat than providing lifesaving care.