ACLU

On the morning of Dec. 1, 2010, Tamesha Means, then 27, began her day like any other: Breakfast, bundling up the kids, and getting everyone out the door on time. Then her water broke. She was 18 weeks pregnant with her fourth child. She called her friend and rushed to Mercy Health Muskegon, the only hospital in the Michigan county where she lives. Over the next 48 hours, she would be sent home from that hospital twice. Two days after her initial ER visit, Tamesha was at Mercy again, feverish with infection, and begging for help. As the hospital prepared another round of discharge paperwork, the feet of her baby began to come out of her. She was admitted and delivered the infant, who died a few hours later.

Mercy Health Muskegon is a Catholic hospital run by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), whose religious directives prohibit physicians from administering any treatment that could result in the termination of a pregnancy, even if the mother's life is at risk. In November, the ACLU and the ACLU of Michigan sued the USCCB on behalf of Tamesha and the unknown number of women around the country who have experienced similar treatment at Catholic-run facilities. The USCCB released a statement on the lawsuit, in which it says "The Church holds that all human life, both before and after birth, has inherent dignity, and that health care providers have the corresponding duty to respect the dignity of all their patients." All further media inquiries for comment by the organization have been denied.

Tamesha spoke with Cosmopolitan.com to tell her story.

When your water breaks at 18 weeks of pregnancy, what's going through your mind?

I've had three other children. I knew I had to get there within the hour because it could set me up for a pretty dangerous infection. [At the hospital], I expected to get an IV and antibiotics. I expected them to keep me. Mostly, I expected them to tell me what was going on — why my water broke and what they could do to help me.

What did they tell you?

I was told to go home. I was told that if I could hold on for at least nine days that, basically, everything would be OK.

What happened when you returned to the hospital the second time?

They sent me home with no answers. I was begging. "You guys have to help me. I am in a lot of pain. I can't keep going home like this. Please help me."

Did the hospital ever inform you that the baby would likely not survive?

No. Them telling us to hold on for nine days, it gave us hope. It was pretty confusing. After we were sent home the second time, I knew the baby wasn't going to make it. I felt alone. I can't even put into words. I felt confused, in pain and devastated.

After you delivered and learned the baby had died, how long did you stay in the hospital to recover?

I stayed two days. During the time of the release, I was told I was good to go home. We called for our ride. We got dressed, and we proceeded on to the elevator to go to the lobby. Before we could get on the elevator, we were stopped by one of the nurses and were told, "You need to call a funeral home or someone to come pick up your baby."

In 2012 a public health researcher informed you that four other women had similar experiences at Mercy. How did you take this information?

I think I felt worse than when it was happening to me. Something needed to be done. I wanted to tell my story. I want to make sure that it doesn't happen to other women.

How long until you contacted the ACLU?

It took quite some time for me to even be able to talk about it again. I had no answers. What do you do when dealing with something like that? It was very hard not just for myself, but my fiancé, the father of this baby, and my kids. I came home, and they're expecting me to walk through the door with their little brother in my arms and he wasn't there.

How is your family dealing with the media attention? Do your kids, ages 2 to 13, understand what's going on?

I try to keep it away from them. Whenever I talk about the case, I do it during their school hours. As far as [my fiancé] and myself, it's harder for us today than when it was happening. Knowing that they didn't care for [us] as they should have professionally. Knowing that they made decisions based on their personal beliefs. When we finally got our answers, it made it harder to deal with it.

Have you experienced any backlash for suing and speaking up about your experience?

It's been mainly support. I stay offline so that I don't see any negative reactions. My family is extremely supportive. They're shocked, too, that I'm willing to take it this far. One of the questions they ask a lot is, do I feel that I can handle it all? I do. I feel that I am a very strong person, and I've had a lot of time to think about this. Wherever this goes, I'm ready.

You were named one of Think Progress' Women's Health Heroes of 2013. How does it feel to be celebrated as a hero?

It feels good. I have people coming up to me at my job, telling me, "You're a hero," "You're a celebrity." It feels good to be able to be strong and take action and on such a sensitive case. I'm not just thinking about myself and what my family went through. I'm thinking about women all over.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Photo Credit: ACLU

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