Key Points:
Texas woman alleges two hospitals sent her home twice despite a nonviable pregnancy and severe bleeding.
She says delayed treatment led to emergency surgery and the loss of part of her reproductive organs.
An EMTALA complaint accuses the hospitals of failing to provide legally required emergency care.
The complaint argues Texas' abortion ban created confusion over treatment for pregnancy complications.
Federal law requires hospitals to stabilize patients with emergency medical conditions, including pregnancy emergencies.
The woman is seeking a federal investigation into whether EMTALA protections were violated.
A woman from Austin, Texas, has filed a federal complaint alleging that two hospitals repeatedly denied her timely treatment during a miscarriage because of concerns surrounding Texas' strict abortion laws, resulting in a severe infection, prolonged suffering, and lasting psychological trauma.
The complaint, filed on June 22, 2026, accuses Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Round Rock and St. David's Round Rock Medical Center of violating the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) by refusing to provide stabilizing emergency care during her miscarriage.
EMTALA is a federal law requiring Medicare-participating hospitals to provide emergency evaluation and stabilizing treatment regardless of a patient's ability to pay or other legal considerations.
According to the complaint, Lynn Callaway, 40, experienced multiple emergency visits in October 2025 before finally receiving definitive treatment several days after her condition worsened. She has also filed complaints with the Texas Medical Board and the Texas Board of Nursing, requesting investigations into the healthcare professionals involved.
Lynn Callaway, who lives in Austin and is already the mother of an eight-year-old son, learned she was pregnant in September 2025 after taking a home pregnancy test. She described the pregnancy as a joyful surprise.
However, around seven weeks into the pregnancy, on October 9, 2025, she began experiencing vaginal bleeding and severe abdominal pain.
The following day, she visited her obstetrician-gynecologist's office, where a nurse practitioner reportedly warned that she might be experiencing either an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage. Blood tests were ordered to monitor her human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels, a hormone measured during pregnancy, which can help determine whether a pregnancy is progressing normally.
Despite worsening symptoms after returning home, Callaway was reportedly told to continue monitoring her condition.
According to the federal complaint, Callaway's bleeding intensified, her abdominal pain became more severe, and she developed profound fatigue.
She contacted her OB-GYN's office again, where an on-call nurse allegedly informed her that because her hCG level remained relatively high, the clinic could not perform a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure or prescribe misoprostol, a medication commonly used to help complete a miscarriage.
Instead, she was advised to seek emergency care if her symptoms worsened.
Lynn Callaway later said she felt confused about why treatment was unavailable despite her deteriorating condition.
In cases of early pregnancy loss where a pregnancy is no longer viable, treatment options generally include expectant management (allowing the miscarriage to occur naturally), medical management using medications such as misoprostol to help expel pregnancy tissue, or surgical evacuation through dilation and curettage (D&C). The most appropriate approach depends on factors including the patient's symptoms, the stage of pregnancy, the presence of infection or heavy bleeding, and clinical judgment. 3
Lynn Callaway then sought care at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock.
According to the complaint, physicians ruled out an ectopic pregnancy and confirmed that the pregnancy was no longer viable because there was no fetal cardiac activity.
Callaway expected that the hospital would remove the pregnancy tissue through a D&C or offer medication to complete the miscarriage. Instead, she alleges she was instructed to return home and allow the miscarriage to occur naturally.
Calway told The Texas Tribune “No one’s here to help me, I just felt like I was on my own, and that these people didn’t care. And if the hospital isn’t going to treat you, what are you going to do?”
The complaint further alleges that when she expressed fears about hemorrhaging at home, her concerns were dismissed. She was reportedly told to expect cramping and manage her symptoms with over-the-counter Tylenol before being discharged.
After returning home, Callaway's condition reportedly deteriorated further.
She received laboratory results indicating abnormal hCG levels and contacted the hospital again. According to the complaint, she was told that although her results were abnormal, they were not considered sufficiently "life or limb threatening" to warrant intervention.
Her husband, Mario Callaway, later told The Texas Tribune that watching his wife suffer without receiving treatment left him feeling helpless while trying to remain composed for their young son.
Callaway also recalled feeling abandoned by the healthcare system during the ordeal.
Still experiencing severe pain, Callaway sought treatment at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center.
There, physicians reportedly confirmed that she was miscarrying and had already developed an infection. However, according to the complaint, she was discharged once again with antibiotics and pain medication rather than receiving immediate evacuation of retained pregnancy tissue.
The complaint alleges that despite persistent agony, Callaway continued to receive only supportive treatment while her infection progressed.
Several days later, Lynn Callaway returned to her own OB-GYN.
Her physician reportedly became concerned that retained fetal tissue remained in the uterus, increasing her risk of ongoing infection.
She was prescribed stronger antibiotics and, approximately six days after her initial symptoms, was finally offered medication or a procedure to complete the miscarriage.
Callaway later said she believed her physician ultimately made the correct decision but wished that the same care had been provided much earlier.
When she asked why treatment had been delayed despite multiple hospital visits, she was allegedly told that emergency departments needed to be absolutely certain a miscarriage was occurring before offering medications used to end the pregnancy.
The complaint argues that both hospitals violated EMTALA by failing to provide stabilizing emergency care during Callaway's miscarriage.
According to the filing, Baylor Scott & White and St. David's failed to provide medical or surgical or medical treatment necessary to stabilize Callaway's dangerous miscarriage despite evidence that her pregnancy was no longer viable.
The complaint alleges that the hospitals' actions reflected uncertainty and hesitation created by Texas' abortion restrictions rather than appropriate emergency medical care.
Texas currently enforces one of the nation's strictest abortion bans.
Although miscarriage management and induced abortion are medically distinct, they may involve some of the same medications and procedures, including misoprostol and dilation and curettage (D&C). Medical organizations have warned that restrictive abortion laws can create uncertainty for clinicians treating pregnancy complications when emergency care overlaps with treatments also used for abortion.
The law permits abortion when necessary to save a pregnant patient's life or prevent serious bodily harm. However, physicians who violate the law face severe criminal penalties, including the possibility of lengthy prison sentences.
Physicians and medical organizations have said the law's wording has created uncertainty about when emergency pregnancy care is legally permitted, while Texas state officials have maintained that medically necessary treatment for pregnancy complications, including miscarriages, remains lawful under existing exceptions.1
The complaint argues that fear of legal consequences has created confusion among healthcare providers managing pregnancy complications such as miscarriages, even when fetal cardiac activity has ceased or emergency treatment is medically indicated.
In a statement, St. David's Round Rock Medical Center acknowledged awareness of the complaint and said it is responding through the appropriate regulatory process.
The hospital stated that it complies with applicable state and federal laws while supporting physicians in exercising independent clinical judgment within legal requirements.
A spokesperson for Baylor Scott & White Health declined to comment on Callaway's individual case because of patient privacy laws. However, the health system stated that treatment decisions are based on physicians' clinical judgment, patients' medical needs, and applicable legal requirements.
According to the complaint, Callaway continued to battle infection after the miscarriage and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
She reportedly experiences emotional distress when seeing pregnant women and worries about the safety of future pregnancies.
Callaway has said she still hopes to expand her family but now questions whether it is safe to become pregnant again in Texas.
The complaint also asks federal authorities to investigate whether the hospitals' actions violated EMTALA and to ensure emergency miscarriage care remains available to patients facing similar medical emergencies.
Reference:
1. Texas State Law Library. “General Information: Abortion Laws.” Guides at Texas State Law Library. Last modified February 11, 2026. https://guides.sll.texas.gov/abortion-laws
2. Callaway, Lynn. Administrative Complaint Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). Complaint submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, June 2026. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/690bca20a3ff251f0866b821/t/6a39800526049e7cc4d0209c/1782153221641/Callaway+EMTALA+Complaint+FINAL.pdf
3. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Early Pregnancy Loss. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 200. Obstetrics & Gynecology 132, no. 5 (2018): e197-e207. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-bulletin/articles/2018/11/early-pregnancy-loss
(Rh/ARC/MSM)