President Donald Trump is being sued by a USAID worker whose pregnant wife was allegedly denied emergency assistance due to a freeze in USAID medical evacuations.
The patient, 31 weeks pregnant, was twice denied an evacuation and by the time a senator intervened to get clearance, her life-threatening condition had worsened to the point that it was too dangerous to move her, according to court papers.
The distraught USAID worker says in the affidavit that he now faces “Sophie’s choice,” as his wife is unable leave the hospital, but the “neonatal capabilities” in the country where he is posted in are “limited.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that nearly all USAID workers would be withdrawn from the field amid efforts to dismantle the agency, meaning many programs were put at risk of being ended.
The move followed an earlier freeze on foreign aid. The U.S. pays more in foreign aid than any other country, and dismantling USAID emerged as a key priority for the president in the early days of his current term.
Rusty Schramm/The Temple Daily Telegram via AP
What To Know
In a court affidavit, filed on February 17 in the District of Columbia, the USAID worker, identified as “Terry Doe,” said that his wife was 31 weeks pregnant after “years of infertility and $50,000 of personal investment in countless fertility treatments across multiple tours, spanning three continents.”
Despite being “overjoyed” over her pregnancy, the worker, who was stationed overseas, said that the joy turned to “turmoil, sadness and dread,” as his wife had to be in and out of hospital due to a life-threatening condition and stress-related complications, which the worker attributed to the “constant onslaught” of his employer.
Doe added that because of these complications, his wife was told she needed to immediately evacuate due to a high risk of bleeding, something which could be life-threatening to both her and the baby.
A request for urgent medical evacuation, put through by an embassy medical unit, was denied twice by Washington’s State Department, on February 4 and 6, says Doe.
The Washington State Department said in a message “there is no USAID funding for medevacs,” according to the affidavit.
Doe said he was then informed by the embassy medical unit he would have to pay his way to a third country where his wife could get access to more advanced health care. He added that staff wept as they told him, knowing “this was wrong.”
Doe added that he learnt that the freezing of USAID medical evacuations, hospitalization support and guarantees of payment for urgent medical services were halted between the window of February 1 to February 7.
This meant that on February 7, Doe’s U.S. Senator intervened and was able to get the state department to authorize a medevac for his wife, the lawsuit continued.
However, before she could be evacuated, she began hemorrhaging and had to be admitted to hospital at their overseas post, Doe said in the lawsuit.
Doe added that his wife remains in hospital and on bed rest until her due date in April, and the doctors have told them that it would now be “too dangerous” for his wife to get on a plane.
Should he need to fly his wife to necessary care on the chance the baby could be born early, which the doctors reportedly fear could likely happen, Doe said the medical evacuation flight would cost him $120,000.
According to the lawsuit, the State Med Foreign Programs sent an email on February 15 to all pregnant officers that were seeking medical evacuation, which said: “I want to assure you that no one who has met the criteria for medevac has been denied that service.”
Doe added that the declaration was “contrary to [his] lived experience.”
What People Are Saying
Senior Reporter for Politico Kyle Cheney, wrote in a post on X: “[The worker’s] been in touch with 25 other pregnant foreign service officers who are fearful their care will be cut off if the agency closes down completely on March 8.”
The USAID worker, named as “Terry Doe,” added in the lawsuit: “The stress on all USAID families since January 20th contributed to her deteriorating medical condition. Now I’m afraid for her and my baby’s health because of this rushed, haphazard and cruel push to shut down the agency. This didn’t have to happen.”
What’s Next
Following the president’s orders to freeze USAID, other USAID workers have also filed lawsuits against President Trump as workers find themselves in increasingly more difficult positions.
