Ashley Brandt, from Dallas, loved being a mother to her 3-year-old son, so when she and her husband, Marcus, learned they were expecting again in May 2023, they were ecstatic. The couple’s excitement grew when the first ultrasound revealed identical twin girls. However, the joy quickly turned to despair when at her 12-week scan, the doctor diagnosed one of the twins with acrania, a fatal condition where the absence of a fetal skull leaves the brain tissue exposed to amniotic fluid. Left untreated, the non-viable twin threatened Ashley’s health and the life of her healthy twin. However, as the non-viable twin still had a heartbeat, Texas law prevented Ashley from being able to receive termination care in state, despite no chance of the fetus surviving and the substantial risks posed to her and her health twin. Texas law also prevented her doctors from openly discussing termination options, leaving Ashley and Marcus on their own to find answers in the midst of tremendous grief. Ashley found a clinic in Colorado to perform the selective reduction and spent thousands of dollars on last minute travel, child care, and healthcare costs to receive critical medical care. The nightmare continued upon return to Texas when Ashley experienced heavy bleeding and was rushed to the hospital, frightened to tell doctors she had received termination care out of state in fear that current law would punish her doctors and her family. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, Ashley remained terrified throughout the remainder of her pregnancy until she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Marley.
While Ashley and Marcus always planned to have three children, the harrowing experience prompted Marcus to obtain a vasectomy as the couple cannot fathom enduring another pregnancy in Texas.