AUSTIN — A federal complaint alleges that Austin-area hospitals denied miscarriage care to Lynn Callaway despite clarifications to Texas' abortion ban and federal law. Callaway experienced chills, fever, and cramps during a miscarriage that developed into an infection.

Callaway states in the complaint that she was refused care at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock and St. David's Round Rock Medical Center. The filing alleges both hospitals violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal statute requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment, including for miscarriages. Callaway asked the Texas Medical Board and Texas Board of Nursing to investigate the healthcare providers.

Callaway had requested abortion-inducing medication or surgery to empty her uterus. She said her doctor told her the emergency room would "have to be damned sure that it's an actual miscarriage to be offering the pill." Days after the hospital visits, Callaway's doctor prescribed her abortion-inducing drugs to pass the miscarriage. A spokesperson for Baylor Scott & White Health stated medical decisions are "guided by the clinical judgment of our physicians and care teams who determine appropriate treatment based on medical needs and applicable legal requirements." St. David's did not respond to a request for comment.

Texas banned nearly all abortions four years prior to June 2026. Last year, Texas lawmakers passed a bill aimed at assuring doctors that they would not be punished for treating miscarriages; the law went into effect in June of the previous year. Callaway's lawyers say in the complaint that EMTALA investigations are being delayed, in part due to a 2022 lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Callaway received a positive pregnancy test and immediately contacted her OB/GYN. She began spotting and experiencing pain when she estimated she was seven weeks pregnant. A nurse practitioner at her OB/GYN's office suggested she might have an ectopic pregnancy. A nurse ordered bloodwork to assess Callaway's human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels. Callaway's hCG levels dropped from 688 mIU/mL to 130 mIU/mL over 10 days, according to the complaint.

When Callaway's bleeding increased and cramping worsened, she called the after-hours nurse. The after-hours nurse stated that Callaway's hCG was still too high to offer surgery or medication, according to the complaint, and advised her to go to the emergency room if her condition worsened. Callaway went to the emergency room at Baylor Scott & White in Round Rock with her husband and son, informing the nurse that she was in pain and bleeding. The emergency room physician asked Callaway to consent to an STD test, and she agreed to a pelvic exam.

The doctor confirmed Callaway's pregnancy was not ectopic, but that she was miscarrying, and there was no fetal cardiac activity detected. Callaway says she was told to go home and wait for the pregnancy to pass, and that she could take Tylenol for the pain. The doctor informed Callaway that everything with her blood work looked fine, according to the complaint, though Callaway stated her blood specimen was still in the room and not yet tested. Callaway has been diagnosed with PTSD in the months since her miscarriage.