They are all giddy with excitement. Finally, life will begin “for real”. In Houston, Texas, Elizabeth Weller and her husband James have just told their family that they are expecting a little bump in October. The house has been bought, the studies are immediately finished and everything is ready for the expansion of the family. – We had an expectation that as long as we followed the rules and made sure that everything went according to plan – then everything would go well. But it was not to be. THE DREAM: They were to become a family of three. Photo: Camilla Svennæs Bergland / news A few months earlier, in their home state of Texas, the politicians approved the so-called “heartbeat law”, which prohibits abortion after week six. A time when many women do not know they are pregnant. Abortion clinics in neighboring states currently have long waiting lists, and women from Texas are pouring across the state line in hopes of getting help. Nearly halfway through her pregnancy—well past the Texas abortion limit of six weeks—Elizabeth knows something is terribly wrong. Elizabeth has just lost a lot of amniotic fluid. She and James rush to the hospital. Because amniotic fluid is critical for the child’s development, and because Elizabeth has lost so much, the doctors she meets at the hospital are pessimistic, she says. – The moment she would take her first breath, that would be it. She would die. Elizabeth is presented with two choices: She can stay in the hospital until week 24 of the pregnancy. Then they can take the daughter out and hope that she will survive until then. During this period, Elizabeth also runs the risk of becoming ill. She can carry out an abortion, and terminate the pregnancy. I knew even then that the only rational decision was to end the suffering for my child and to look after my own health. Elizabeth Weller Elizabeth grew up in a Christian family. When she was little, they studied the Bible at home. She attended a Christian school and the family participated in church activities. Her upbringing has helped to shape her views on abortion, and she never thought that at some point in her life she would have to make such a choice. – To choose to remain pregnant would be to continue the suffering of my daughter. No parent wants to do that, says Elizabeth. She wipes her tears and continues: – And on top of this, I now also had to deal with the fact that if I didn’t do something – I was going to get sick. When the Heartbeat Act was enacted in Texas, it effectively meant that individuals could sue anyone who helped a woman have an abortion. Before it was introduced in September 2021, it caused major protests all over the USA. The political USA almost split in two. Since then, abortion has been banned in several states – because when the Supreme Court set aside the ruling that made abortion legal this summer – it was it is up to each individual state to decide whether women should have the right to have an abortion. When Roe V Wade fell, the heartbeat law in Texas was overturned. Today, abortion is completely illegal in Texas. But if the woman’s life is in danger, the woman must get help. Because Elizabeth was sick – she was sure that the exception would apply to her too. – I remember when the doctor told me they couldn’t touch me. I was furious. – Even if this is your pregnancy – you mean nothing. Elizabeth had accepted antibiotics at the hospital, and because she had agreed – she no longer qualified for an abortion, she says. – So you were too healthy to have an abortion? – I was not sick enough to qualify for early induction or abortion, despite the fact that I needed it. In this year’s election campaign, there is one single issue that overshadows most others, which many will experience firsthand. Listen to the podcast The American Storm. Gathering Evidence It was now that Elizabeth began the process of gathering evidence that she was sick enough. She took her own temperature, and checked the color and smell of her discharge. If it turned yellow, and smelled so bad that she wanted to vomit, she had been told that she would qualify. “Abortion on the ballot” Shortly before the US mid-term elections in November, President Joe Biden has been clear that women’s abortion rights are at stake. He has encouraged young people in particular to go to the polls to get more Democrats into Congress. This in the hope of being able to legislate the right to abortion at federal level. POLITICALLY ACTIVE: She has met several Texas politicians before the midterm elections. They have listened to her story. Photo: Camilla Svennæs Bergland / news A survey conducted by the politically neutral analysis center Pew Research shows that fully 61 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal. Despite this, 13 states have already implemented a total ban. In addition, several have tightened up sharply. It is also expected that approximately half of the states will adopt a ban or restrict the right to abortion in the future, and the battles are now taking place in local courts in the various states. Although several people had predicted a “blue wave” in the USA after the Supreme Court’s decision this summer, the American media are now pointing out that the Democrats may have overplayed the abortion issue. And it is uncertain how much it will mean for the by-election. But for women like Elizabeth – this matter is bloody serious. The words come from Kathaleen Pittman Pittmann has run the Hope abortion clinic for 30 years, and has welcomed thousands of women who have needed help. The clinic is located just across the border from Texas, in the state of Louisiana. After the ruling from the Supreme Court, they can no longer help women who need it. – We were all forced to close. The corridor, where women nervously walked from room to room, is now completely empty. The waiting room is full of cardboard boxes and clutter. The shelves that were full of medical equipment are now empty – We still have women calling and crying because they can’t get an appointment anywhere – or they can’t afford to go where there are available appointments. The nearest place from here is nine to ten hours away. DIRECTOR: Kathaleen Pittman has run the Hope abortion clinic for 30 years. Photo: Camilla Svennæs Bergland / news Back in Houston, Texas, Elizabeth gets worse and worse – but not bad enough to have an abortion, she is told. She nevertheless turns up at the hospital with what she believes is proof that she is ill: a pair of panties with yellow foul-smelling discharge. An ethics committee finally makes a decision. The scales are tipping in Elizabeth’s favour. She will be allowed to have an abortion. Before she could have an abortion, Elizabeth had to sign a form. It said that it would be psychologically taxing to carry out the abortion, and that her child would feel the procedure, she says. – I remember writing to journalists, where I ended each email with “I want to be so open about this, that “Texas will get down on its knees and ask me for forgiveness”, I was so angry. FIGHTING FOR CHANGE: Elizabeth attends political meetings to create change in the state. Photo: Camilla Svennæs Bergland / news Elizabeth is now using her story to try to create political changes in Texas before the midterm elections. She attends caucuses for the Democrats and tells her story in hopes of making Americans see the consequences of abortion laws for women. URNEN: Their daughter should have been born in October. Photo: Privat But despite her will to fight, grief is also present. Every day she comes home to the small urn that stands on a shelf in the living room – where her daughter’s name is engraved: “Theodora R. Weller”. Hear Elizabeth’s entire story in the podcast “The American Storm”. American democracy is disintegrating. Trust in both the politicians and the electoral system is at rock bottom, and much is at stake before the nerve-wracking by-elections in November. Join longtime correspondent Tove Bjørgaas and journalist Camilla Bergland to Arizona, where counting votes is dangerous, and politicians say they will not trust the election results if they lose.
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