Agnieszka T (2022) † Poland
Pregnant woman miscarrying twins dies of (likely) sepsis because doctors waited for fetuses to die.
Agnieszka, a mother of three, was pregnant with twins during her first trimester when she was admitted to the Blessed Virgin Mary Hospital in Częstochowa on December 21, 2021, with abdominal pain and vomiting. According to her family, she arrived at the hospital in “good physical and mental shape.” After two days in the hospital, one of the heartbeats of the twins stopped and, according to Agnieszka’s family, the doctors refused to remove it, citing Poland’s abortion laws. (But the law allows abortion to in cases of rape or incest or when pregnancy threatens a woman’s health or life.)
Agnieszka’s family said that after the first fetus died “her state quickly deteriorated.” Her twin sister, Wioletta Paciepnik said “Her husband begged the doctors to save his wife, even at the cost of the pregnancy.” But Agnieszka was forced to carry the fetus for another seven days until the second twin died on December 29. The doctors still didn’t terminate the pregnancy for another two days until December 31. A priest was then summoned by hospital staff to perform a funeral for the twins, the family said.
Agnieszka then remained in the hospital for weeks with deteriorating health and ultimately died on January 25. Her family suspect that she died of sepsis but the cause of death was not identified in a statement released by the hospital.
Sources: The Guardian, Jan 28, 2022: Protests flare across Poland after death of young mother denied an abortion. Newsweek, Jan 31, 2022: Government Has ‘Blood on Its Hands’ Family Says After Woman Denied Abortion Dies.