Allie Phillips was due to have a baby in July of 2023. But at 19 weeks gestation, she was told that her baby girl had a long list of fatal health complications and would eventually die in utero. The story was picked up by a Yahoo News reporter, who declared, “Tennessee’s strict abortion ban laws did not allow exceptions, even in cases of fetal anomaly, or risk to the mother’s life.”
Phillips was allegedly forced to save money and travel to New York to get a life-saving abortion. There, she discovered that her preborn child, Miley, no longer had a heartbeat, and the abortion was unnecessary.
But is the story true? Was Phillips denied a life-saving abortion?
Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:
- Doctors presented Phillips with the option of *either* carrying the pregnancy to term or undergoing an abortion. This suggests no imminent threat to Phillips’ life or well-being as she was given the option of not pursuing an abortion.
- The claim that Tennessee law would not have allowed life-saving abortion is demonstrably false. In fact, it would have been easy to fact check as the law clearly “allows physicians to perform abortions in limited medical emergencies: molar or ectopic pregnancies, to remove a miscarriage, to save the life of the mother and “prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”
- Dr. Ingrid Skop, a board-certified OB/GYN, states that the media’s “description of Allie Phillips’ heartbreaking pregnancy complication misrepresents the truth.
Every state with legal protections for unborn children, including Tennessee, contains an exception permitting abortion if it is necessary to save a mother’s life or prevent a serious risk to her health. Yet, based on their reporting (I have not seen Allie’s medical records), she did not have a complication that presented a serious risk to her life or health. Her unborn child, Miley, had life-limiting fetal conditions, which ultimately resulted in her death before birth.”
The media’s claim that Philips was denied a life-saving abortion was a fabrication.
The truth is that an abortion was not necessary in Philips’ case.
Allie Phillips is Taking A Stand For Abortion
But that’s not all. Allie Phillips is now running for office in Tennessee after being allegedly denied the medical care she needed. Having entered the race for the State House, Phillips said, “If anybody’s going to fight for Miley and my daughter, it’s going to be me.”
But what is she fighting for? An abortion she never needed and a pregnancy that was not life-threatening?
When Phillips was told that her preborn baby had passed away, she said, “I just started crying,” “I was mostly prepared for the next day to lose Miley. I wasn’t ready that day. I didn’t want Miley to go either way, but I thought I at least had one more day with her.”
For this reason, she is basing her political campaign on advocating for abortion rights.
Philips experienced profound grief and sorrow when her preborn baby passed away in utero, demonstrating a strong emotional attachment. Why, then, does she now advocate for the termination of other preborn babies, claiming to “fight for her daughter” by supporting their destruction, regardless of whether they have potential health issues or not?
If losing her daughter in the womb was emotionally devastating, why does it not elicit a similar sense of devastation to actively advocate for the termination of other preborn babies?
You Deserve the Truth
When it comes to the topic of abortion, the media spreads a lot of misinformation and inaccurate reporting. In our current polarized society, it is often difficult to get the facts. But at Choices Pregnancy Centers, we think that you deserve the entire story.
If you are facing an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, know that you have choices. Choices offers free ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, and we have caring advocates and medical professionals standing by who can help you navigate the next steps. Visit our website for more information, or make an appointment today.
