A routine labor turned into a terrifying ordeal that could’ve ended in tragedy and now a Chicago couple is calling out what they believe was blatant discrimination.
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According to Fox News’ @tiaontv , Mercedes and Leon Wells says the northwest Indiana hospital, Franciscan Health Crown Point, sent them home while Mercedes was contracting every minute, leaving them no choice but to deliver their baby girl on the side of a highway… yes you read that right.
A Discharge That Made No Sense
Cellphone video from that night tells its own story: Mercedes is doubled over in a wheelchair, being rolled out the hospital doors. She says she told staff the contractions were hitting hard and fast. The couple says they begged for help. But according to them, no doctor ever examined her not even a quick check, before she was sent home. And just eight minutes down the road, Mercedes felt a sudden pressure, and knew she had to give birth.
Their daughter, Alena, made her entrance right there on the highway shoulder, her father delivering her with trembling hands and sheer determination. It wasn’t the birth plan. It wasn’t even Plan Z. It was survival.
“This was traumatic, discriminatory, and dangerous.”
That’s how the Wells family describes the experience. They’ve hired an attorney, but they say they’re not suing for money. They want the hospital to confront what happened, fix it, and make sure nobody else ends up delivering a baby under streetlights and tail lights.
They also believe their treatment wasn’t just neglect, it was racial bias. To them, the way they were dismissed, rushed out, and ignored didn’t feel accidental. It felt systemic.
Franciscan Health Calls the Video “Deeply Troubling”
The hospital declined an interview, but released a statement saying the video does “not reflect its values.” Franciscan Health says an internal investigation is underway.
But the Wells family says an investigation isn’t enough, not when the evidence includes a baby born on pavement.
Her parents say she’s their miracle. But they also say her birth should never have happened this way.
What Comes Next
The hospital’s investigation continues. The Wells family continues to speak out. And baby Alena, already a survivor, is home, safe, loved, and unknowingly at the center of a conversation about equity, dignity, and the most basic level of medical care every family deserves.