Statement on heartbreaking death of Josseli Barnica
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2024
CONTACT: [email protected]
Statement from Brittany Fonteno, President & CEO of the National Abortion Federation
Josseli Barnica should be alive today. Just like Candi Miller and Amber Thurman in Georgia, Josseli was a mother who died an entirely preventable death because of an extreme and dangerous abortion ban that denies people essential, emergency care and criminalizes providers just for doing their jobs. Josseli’s doctors knew she was miscarrying and that the fetus was no longer viable, but because of the state’s medically unnecessary abortion ban and fears for their futures, her providers felt their hands were tied and waited precious hours to give her care. Texas’ cruel abortion ban has made pregnancy and miscarriage a matter of life or death. Today’s news of the deaths of Josseli and another unnamed Texas woman are only the latest reported deaths as a result of abortion bans. Unless these bans are lifted, I fear far more are in our future.
Abortion restrictions and bans do not stop the need for this essential health care; they just make it more difficult to access by forcing patients and providers into impossible situations. No one should be afraid to access medical care, and no health care provider should fear prosecution for giving the best standard of care.
Today, over 21 million women of reproductive age live in states where abortion is banned. Abortion bans disproportionately harm Black, Brown, and immigrant communities–immigrant women like Barnica who came to the U.S. from Honduras in search of a better life. Structural barriers to health care access mean that these communities are consistently denied access to health care, including abortion. Josseli leaves behind a daughter, husband, family, and friends who must live with the nightmare reality that Texas politicians and anti-abortion extremists have created.
At NAF, we will continue to help patients access abortion care through the National Abortion Hotline (1-800-772-9100), whether that’s help finding a provider, arranging travel to another state, or funding for their care. We will continue to work closely with our national network of member providers, many of whom face uncertainty and fear in the current political landscape. And we will continue to combat anti-abortion extremists whose use of violence and political weaponization is putting pregnant people and providers at extreme risk.
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The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the nation’s leading professional association of abortion providers. NAF represents hundreds of providers and clinics across the country that are on the frontlines of abortion access. NAF provides members with trainings, security support, and clinical guidelines that serve as the gold standard of abortion care. NAF also operates the National Abortion Hotline, the nation’s largest national, toll-free, multi-lingual hotline for abortion resources and travel and financial assistance in the U.S. Learn more at https://prochoice.org