AMANDA ZUROWSKI
Amanda was born in 1987 and grew up in Indiana. She met her now-husband, Josh, when they were young children attending the same preschool, and they later became a couple in high school.
When they were ready to start a family, they struggled to conceive and decided to pursue fertility treatments in hopes of having a child of their own. In 2022, at just 18 weeks pregnant, her water broke prematurely, crushing their hopes that the baby would survive. What happened next catapulted Amanda and her story to the national stage.
Upon hearing the news that her baby could not survive, her first thought was pure despair. Not only were she and her husband grieving the loss of a baby they so desperately wanted, but the doctor could not even guarantee Amanda's own safety.
Texas has a near-total ban on abortion with vague medical exception laws. The doctor was unable to provide Amanda with a life-saving abortion due to the baby's detectable heartbeat.
Amanda endured a torturous three-day wait, uncertain about her future. She only received treatment after developing life-threatening sepsis.
The experience was shocking and infuriating—on top of already dealing with grief and loss, the delay in care felt barbaric. It was the first time in her life she felt she needed a lawyer. She had never conceived of suing the state of Texas, but the experience changed her view of reproductive rights, especially in a post-Roe v. Wade world.
While she had always been interested in and educated about politics, she had not fully understood how much impact one voice could make. Though she lost her baby, she was determined to prevent what happened to her from happening to other women.
She joined other plaintiffs in challenging the state's abortion bans before the Texas Supreme Court. After being asked to speak at the Democratic National Convention, she shared that getting involved in politics had been unexpected and not something she ever would have seen herself doing.
Whether speaking on stage or having difficult conversations with family members, she has come to understand that these conversations are just as important as any other advocacy work.
