When Ashley and Marcus Brandt learned they were expecting twins, they imagined their family finally feeling complete. Just weeks later, everything changed. During a routine ultrasound, one of the twins was diagnosed with a fatal condition. Because of Texas' abortion ban, their doctors couldn't provide the medical care they needed. The family traveled to Colorado for a procedure that protected Ashley from life-threatening complications and saved their surviving twin. In this special collaboration with Abortion in America, Mini Timmaraju sits down with Ashley and Marcus to hear their story. Together, they discuss how abortion bans delay critical medical care, and undermine the ability of patients and doctors to make the best decisions together. “I felt like a reproductive refugee,” says Ashley. “My daughter has less rights now than her grandmother did. It’s unacceptable."
When Ashley and Marcus Brandt learned they were expecting twins, they imagined their family finally feeling complete. Just weeks later, everything changed.
During a routine ultrasound, one of the twins was diagnosed with a fatal condition. Because of Texas' abortion ban, their doctors couldn't provide the medical care they needed. The family traveled to Colorado for a procedure that protected Ashley from life-threatening complications and saved their surviving twin.
In this special collaboration with Abortion in America, Mini Timmaraju sits down with Ashley and Marcus to hear their story. Together, they discuss how abortion bans delay critical medical care, and undermine the ability of patients and doctors to make the best decisions together.
“I felt like a reproductive refugee,” says Ashley. “My daughter has less rights now than her grandmother did. It’s unacceptable."
They discuss:
This episode is a powerful reminder that abortion is health care—and that politicians should never stand between families and the medical care they need.
Episode recorded on March 8, 2026
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