How US abortion bans put women at risk: ‘My wife almost bled out in our toilet – it can’t be the same for my daughter’
Warning: This story contains details of a miscarriage which some people may find distressing.
“We broke Roe vs Wade,” president-elect Donald Trump said earlier this year, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in 2022 which stripped millions of American women of the legal right to abortion.
Some 36 days later, Ryan Hamilton, a radio host from Texas, found his wife passed out “in a huge pool of blood” on their toilet floor, their dead baby still inside her after she was denied abortion care.
“What I want is for people to understand that this is really happening and that abortion bans affect incomplete miscarriages, women like my wife,” Mr Hamilton told Sky News.
“Women have literally died and the thing I want the most is to make sure that my daughter’s future doesn’t include her bleeding out on a bathroom floor like her mum almost did.”
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Trump called out over ‘abortion lies’
‘She was tortured for four days by the state of Texas’
In 2021 Texas introduced stringent laws on abortion, banning it after five weeks of pregnancy.
But after Roe vs Wade was overturned the next year, it went a step further and banned abortion in any circumstance except to save a woman’s life or prevent “substantial impairment of a major bodily function”.
Although Texas allows this exception, doctors and women argued in court last year that the state’s law is so restrictive and vaguely worded that physicians are afraid of providing abortions for fear they could face potential criminal charges.
Mr Hamilton claims the law’s vagueness is what caused his wife to almost die from her miscarriage.
“There’s no clarification as to how close to dead a woman has to be for them to legally perform the abortion care that she needs,” he said.
With his first daughter, a one-year-old, cooing in the background, Mr Hamilton described how his wife, 37, was 13 weeks pregnant when she miscarried while carrying their second child.
When they first realised something was wrong, the couple went to a medical centre near their home in a rural area of Texas, where the baby was found to have no heartbeat.
Mr Hamilton’s wife, who has asked to remain anonymous, was prescribed the drug misoprostol, more commonly known as an abortion pill.
That was a Thursday, Mr Hamilton recalls, but as it was too late in the day to get hold of the pill, his wife had to spend a “torturous” night with their dead baby still in her womb.
When morning came, Mr Hamilton went to the pharmacy and got the pill. But after his wife took the first dose, the couple called the medical centre to report something was “really wrong” as she was bleeding a lot.
They asked for an alternative to the pill but the medic on the phone said they should try again with the second dose and monitor the colour of the blood.
Mr Hamilton said: “They asked me what colour the blood was, they said it needs to be brown blood… I said ‘it’s bright red’ and they said ‘that’s not right’.
“So in the middle of losing our baby… We are being instructed on focusing on the colour of the blood in the toilet.”
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Why could abortion pill be pulled in US?
After a night when Mr Hamilton’s wife experienced something akin to early labour, the situation hadn’t changed, so the couple went back to the centre in the hope of getting more support.
The doctor on shift, however, told them that “considering the current stance” he wouldn’t prescribe any more misoprostol – and also had no alternative to offer.
“We stood in the parking lot with our then nine-month-old daughter in the truck, trying to figure out what we were going to do because the risk of sepsis could have killed my wife… if we left our dead baby in there,” Mr Hamilton said.
They then decided to go to another hospital about an hour away. His wife was subjected to “more probing and prodding only to discover what we already knew, that our baby didn’t have a heartbeat”.
He said she was “bleeding profusely at this point… bleeding non-stop, bleeding through post-birth pads”.
Mr Hamilton said the doctors “disappeared for hours” only to come back and refuse to carry out dilation and curettage (D&C), a surgical procedure to remove the baby. The couple were sent home with a third dose of misoprostol instead.
Mr Hamilton said they were essentially saying “she’s not close enough to dead to perform this procedure as she has to reach the life of the mother exception under Texas law”.
“It’s nightmare stuff and my poor wife was tortured for four days by the state of Texas,” he said.
Sky News has approached Texas state authorities for comment.
According to online abortion service Women on Web, medical abortion is “effective and safe” up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. After that, the medicine will still be effective but the risk of complications increases, as does the chance of having to see a medical professional afterwards.
‘I thought she was going to die’
Mr Hamilton described how after taking the third dose of the abortion pill, his wife woke up on Sunday to even more bleeding.
“I wrapped her in the heating blanket, and she was cold, clammy cold. I propped her head up on the pillow and it was the first time I thought she was going to die.”
While checking on their daughter, he got a missed call from his wife, so he ran over and found she had “fallen off the toilet” and was lying in a “huge pool of blood”.
He picked her up and “put her unconscious body in the truck”, strapped their daughter in and drove to a third hospital in the hope of getting help.
As “she was close enough to dead”, she got life-saving care, regained consciousness and her body gradually recovered.
According to analysis shared with NBC, the number of women who died while pregnant, during labour or soon after giving birth skyrocketed following Texas’s five-week ban in 2021.
From 2019 to 2022, the rate of maternal mortality cases in Texas rose by 56%, compared with just 11% nationwide during the same time period, according to an analysis of federal public health data by the Gender Equity Policy Institute.
“We will carry that torturous experience with us for the rest of our lives,” Mr Hamilton said.
What could happen to abortion rights under second Trump administration?
It is hard to say what Trump’s second administration, due to start once he is inaugurated on 20 January, could mean for the future of abortion rights in the US as the president-elect has flip-flopped on the issue.
As president, he backed a House bill which would’ve banned abortion in the whole country after 20 weeks.
In March, he suggested he would support a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation.
But in the final stages of his latest campaign, which saw his Republican Party take control of both Houses, the 78-year-old said he would not sign a federal ban on abortion and would leave it to the states to decide what policies to adopt.
At the end of August, Mr Trump, whose wife Melania recently published a memoir where she came out in support of abortion rights, told Sky News’ US partner network NBC he believed the six-week abortion ban adopted by his home state of Florida was “too short”.
But as he faced fierce backlash from anti-abortion advocates, Mr Trump came out a day later to say he would be voting “no” on an unsuccessful ballot measure which would have expanded abortion access until foetal viability, around the 24th week of pregnancy.
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US Supreme Court preserves women’s access to abortion pill
Nancy Northup, CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said his re-election is a “deadly threat” to reproductive health.
She said that as a result of Roe vs Wade being overturned, abortion is nearly or completely banned in 17 of the 50 US states.
As the results of the presidential election became clear, there were reports of Americans stockpiling abortion pills, while Plan C, which promotes access to abortion medication online, said searches to its homepage following the landslide vote for Mr Trump surged from 500 to 80,000 in a day.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Ms Northup said: “The unnecessary and cruel harm caused by the first Trump administration includes a reproductive healthcare crisis in vast swathes of the United States that has led to the deaths of numerous women who are likely the tip of the iceberg.
“A second Trump administration will compound these harms with new, potentially far worse ones.
“It will seek to stop the availability of medication abortion by mail, which has been a lifeline in post-Roe America,” she said.
There are also fears it will try to gag organisations based both in and outside of the US from advocating for abortion rights and providing care abroad, even with their non-US funds.
“Without Trump overturning Roe vs Wade then none of this starts to happen,” Mr Hamilton said, referring to the women who died or, like his wife, narrowly escaped death as a result of complications from being denied the care they needed.
“The priority is not my wife’s health, the priority becomes the legality of the procedure.”
At the heart of anti-abortionists’ campaigning is the belief in the sanctity of human life.
“In opposing abortion, we acknowledge the humanity of the child in the womb which fuels our effort to protect the pre-born child’s life,” Americans United for Life says.
Mr Trump’s campaign team has been approached for comment.
A social media post believed to have been published by the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC accuses Israel of “atrocities” against Palestinians.
The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, chanted “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested, footage shows.
The victims, who were attacked as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum, have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were about to be engaged.
Israel accuses Starmer over killings – read latest updates
Rodriguez shouted ‘free Palestine’ as he was arrested.
Pic: Katie Kalisher
Sky News has uncovered what is believed to be a statement by the shooting suspect posted at 10pm local time, around an hour after the shooting – suggesting it was scheduled.
The letter, signed with Rodriguez’s name, was dated 20 May 2025.
In the lengthy essay, Rodriguez criticises Israel’s actions in Gaza and attacks the US government’s position.
“The atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification,” it says.
“Instead of reading descriptions mostly we watch them unfold on video, sometimes live. After a few months of rapidly mounting death tolls Israel had obliterated the capacity to even continue counting the dead.”
Victims Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. Pic: @yaron_li/X
The statement adds: “Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they’ll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they’re doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.”
Rodriguez concludes the statement: “I love you Mom, Dad, baby sis, the rest of my familia, including you, O***** . Free Palestine.”
Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a UN report accusing Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against the Palestinians as biased and antisemitic.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence secretary Yoav Gallant – as well as a senior Hamas commander – for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu has decried what he said were the “false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body”.
Analysis: Trump team will worry about Washington attacker being glorified
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DC shooting: What we know so far
The attack
The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and began shooting, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.
She said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting.
“After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Ms Smith said.
“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence.”
When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Police Chief Smith said.
Suspect believed to have been member of revolutionary socialist group
Rodriguez is believed to have been a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.
An article in the group’s Liberation paper about a protest outside the home of Chicago’s then mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2017 features a picture of Rodriguez at the demonstration as well as quotes from him. The protest was not linked to Israel or Gaza. The article was taken down from the paper’s website on Thursday.
Since 2024, Rodriguez has worked as an administrative specialist for the American Osteopathic Association, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The picture on Rodriguez’s LinkedIn
Before that he was an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, an online archive developed by Carnegie Mellon University to tell the stories of African Americans.
A profile for Rodriguez on the website says he was born and raised in Chicago and has a BA degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago.
“He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places,” the profile says.
Rodriguez is also believed to have donated $500 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in March 2020, when he was running in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.
Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group stormed across the border on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people, taking 250 hostages.
Since then Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 53,000 people, mostly children, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
The war has displaced 90% of Gaza’s population of roughly two million people and left much of the territory in ruins.
Reporting by Samuel Osborne, news reporter, and Sam Doak, OSINT producer
A small plane has crashed into a San Diego neighbourhood in what authorities are calling a “direct hit to multiple homes”.
About 15 homes have caught fire as well as vehicles, and people living in several blocks are being evacuated.
“We have jet fuel all over the place,” assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy told reporters. “Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now.”
The fire chief said there had been a “direct hit to multiple homes” as he described it as a “a gigantic debris field”.
Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: AP
Pic: NBC San Diego
It is currently unknown if there have been any deaths or injuries.
Describing the scene “like something from a movie”, Mr Eddy told reporters: “This is a worst-case scenario, right, a plane into homes off of a runway.
“So, as of now though, the best thing that I have for you is that no one has been transported from the scene so far.
“We’ll continue to search to find out where the plane came from, and continue to work on that and give you updates.”
It was said to be foggy at the time the private plane crashed. Mr Eddy said: “You could barely see in front of you.”
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: Forrest Gallagher/NBC San Diego
Pic: NBC San Diego
Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they peered out the window.
As they fled the neighbourhood with their two young children, they spotted a car engulfed in flames.
Mr Moore said: “It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety.”
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes, while evacuated families were spotted standing in their pyjamas in a parking lot a few blocks away.
Many military service members live in the neighbourhood, which is made up of single family homes and townhomes. It also is heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby.
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: NBC San Diego
San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed the force is responding to the crash in the neighbourhood of Tierrasanta.
Posting on X, a SDPS spokesperson warned people to avoid the area while emergency crews get to work and urged all those who smell jet fuel or find debris to alert the authorities.
Evacuations are taking place in Salmon Street, Sample Street and Sculpin Street. The southbound Santo Road has also been closed at Aero Drive.
An evacuation site has been set up at Miller Elementary School.
Pic: NBC San Diego
Pic: NBC San Diego
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Cessna 550 crashed near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
In a statement, the agency said: “The number of people on board is unknown at this time.
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates.”
The plane can carry six to eight people.
US
Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’
Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white farmers in the African country.
The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.
After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.
Donald Trump met Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the clips were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.
The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.
And he told a news conference: “There is just no genocide in South Africa.”
The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.
South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.
The clips included one of communist politician Julius Malema playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.
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Watch the full video
Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers.
“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many… locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,” the US president said, referring specifically to white farmers.
He added: “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”
Alluding to people in the clips, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”
The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.
He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”
Mr Trump held up news articles. Pic: AP
South African leader rejects allegations
Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.
“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.
“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”
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Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”
The South African leader said there was crime in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”
Mr Trump and Mr Ramaphosa looked towards a screen where a video was played. Pic: Reuters
The video was shown during the White House meeting. Pic: AP
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In February, Mr Trump issued an executive order which cut all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. He also expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.
Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.
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