Doctors told her she was miscarrying, but they couldn’t help until her daughter had no heartbeat.
Synopsis
At 19 weeks pregnant, Julissa Reyn suddenly started bleeding. When she went to the hospital, doctors told her that her daughter would not survive but they could not intervene while she still had a heartbeat. Julissa and her husband Bryan were forced to wait as her condition worsened. Julissa ultimately gave birth to their daughter, who died in their arms. Julissa and Bryan spoke with Abortion in America in their home in Texas about the impact that the state’s abortion ban has had on their family.
Julissa: I’m Julissa Reyn and I am 21.
Bryan: My name’s Bryan Martinez, and I am 24 years old.
Julissa: And our daughter was Juliette Martinez.
Julissa: It was June 2022. We had gone to Denny’s with his nephews. I remember I had already been feeling sick, just nauseous. I took one bite of my pancakes and I said, “I’ll be right back.” And I just vomited in the Denny’s bathroom. I walked back to our table, sat down, and said, “I’m pregnant.”
Then we went to get a test and it was positive.
Bryan: We had already spoken in the weeks prior about how we wanted to start a family. I told her, “You know what, I’m 21. I want to grow with my kids. I don’t want to be 40 and raising a 3-year-old.”
I always wanted a girl, a daughter. She always wanted a daughter. She has curly hair. We always talked about how she was going to do hairstyles and all that good stuff you do with babies.
Julissa: I was excited, over the moon.
I always knew I wanted to name my daughter Juliette.
I have a video from before we even found out I was pregnant. We were at Target in the baby section, and I set up my phone. He was like, “No, if you get pregnant anytime soon it’s going to be a boy.” And I was like, “No, it’s going to be a girl.” And he said, “Shake on it.”
So I recorded it for evidence, because he said I would forget. And I said, “I’m not going to forget.” So we shook hands on video—me saying it would be a girl, him saying it would be a boy. I remember that vividly because I won.
Bryan: Whether it was a boy or a girl, I was going to love them unconditionally.
Julissa: I was already 19 weeks pregnant and I had been bleeding.
Bryan: She told me she was having cramps, not contractions, but cramps. And it was way too early for contractions. We’re at 19 weeks. She called the doctor’s office again. Two hours later, she was still on hold.
So I told her, “Tomorrow morning we’ll drive to the office and try to speak with the doctor.” Up to that point, we wouldn’t have thought anything serious was going on.
Julissa: You know how they say after 20 weeks your baby can hear you? He played a song on his phone and was singing to my belly that night.
After that, we were going to watch a movie and I said, give me a second, I have to go to the bathroom. And as soon as I sat down, the toilet filled with blood.
I just sat there for a second, and that’s when I knew something was really wrong. I yelled for him, but I couldn’t get anything out. I just remember opening my legs, and he said, “Let’s go. Get up, get dressed, let’s go.”
I don’t even remember what I threw on. I don’t remember after that. I just know we got in the car and went straight to the hospital.
Julissa: I was hysterical in the car.
They asked me what was wrong, and I told them, “I am bleeding a lot, I need help, I’m 19 weeks pregnant.”
Another nurse took over, a male nurse. He was taking my blood pressure and vitals. He called labor and delivery upstairs, and they said, “No, she’s not 20 weeks. We’re not going to take her.”
ER said they couldn’t keep me either. They said I was 19 weeks and five days—two days away from 20 weeks—and they still wouldn’t take me.
At 20 weeks, labor and delivery will take you. If you’re under 20 weeks, they say it’s not viable. They told me they couldn’t do anything for me.
So I was there for help, and I was getting nothing.
I was there for help, and I was getting nothing.
Bryan: At three in the morning on October 18th, after four hours, they finally brought us to a labor and delivery room.
They told us we were going to stay the night.
The next morning at 8:30, the doctor walked in—no questions, no small talk. He immediately said, “It’s really sad, you’re going to lose the baby. There’s nothing we can do. That’s how nature works.”
He said she was having a miscarriage, but the baby’s heart was still beating. Because of [Texas’ abortion ban], it was illegal to operate while there was still a heartbeat.
He told us they would keep her there, give antibiotics, painkillers, IV fluids—but whether it took hours, days, weeks, or months, they would not intervene until the heartbeat stopped. The way he described it, we understood—you might die, but until that child dies, we will not prioritize you.
Julissa: It was the worst thing he could have said.
All I got was, “There’s nothing I can do for you, and even if I could, I’m not going to.” And he walked out.
The way he described it, we understood—you might die, but until that child dies, we will not prioritize you.
Bryan: I remember the door shutting. We sat in silence. I went into shock.
Once it was clear there was no chance of saving our daughter—she was in a sac with no amniotic fluid, no way to breathe—I realized I had to prioritize my wife.
I said, “I love my daughter, but I need to find a way to end both of their pain.”
The nurses made it clear that while they could provide comfort—painkillers, IV fluids—there was nothing we could do to end the pregnancy.
They told us if we tried to seek care elsewhere or do anything that affected the heartbeat, we could be prosecuted as murderers.
Julissa: I didn’t know how long I was going to be there. A day, two days, weeks, I had no idea.
My nurse asked if I was in enough pain for medication. She gave it to me.
My lower body felt heavy. I wasn’t supposed to feel anything, but I knew something was wrong. I asked her to check me.
She told me to open my legs and said everything looked fine. I asked her to check again.
She paused, and then said, “I can see her head.”
I laid back down. After that, that was the end.
I didn’t even know it was something that could happen, until it was my thing. Until I couldn’t get the help I needed. Until my daughter had to suffer, gasping for air.
Julissa: He held her right after. I remember you could see her chest moving. My mom said she gasped for air.
He asked the nurse to check if she had a heartbeat. The nurse said no, it was just reflexes. He insisted she check again.
She checked and said, she has a heartbeat.
He asked me if I wanted to hold her, and I said no. He asked multiple times.
On the drive over here, he said I was scared. But it wasn’t that. I knew I was going to go home without her, and I didn’t want to get attached.
But at the end of the day, she was my daughter. So I held her.
And when her heart rate slowed, we held her together until she passed.
Before this, I never thought it would affect me. I didn’t even know it was something that could happen, until it was my thing. Until I couldn’t get the help I needed. Until my daughter had to suffer, gasping for air.
I never thought it would be me, until it was.
Bryan: I knew the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade. Shortly after, Texas enacted a trigger law banning abortion once a heartbeat was detected.
But it never crossed our minds that this would affect us.
We were planning a family. We never thought a statewide ban would impact us personally, especially not in a medical emergency.
Julissa: We planned this pregnancy. We wanted our family.
And in my head, abortion was only for people who didn’t want to be pregnant, or couldn’t afford it.
You think, if I medically need something, they’ll give it to me.
But in my case, no matter how much I begged, I couldn’t get care because of the abortion ban.
You never think it’s you, until it is.
If this happened to you or someone you love, contact Abortion in America or reach out to our team directly at Amplify Legal.
explore more stories from abortion in america
Doctors told her she was miscarrying, but they couldn’t help until her daughter had no heartbeat.
Her daughter-in-law had a medical crisis. It reshaped her understanding of pro-life.
