Posted on 12/15/2023 9:38:56 AM PST by Morgana
This week, Kate Cox got an abortion. She joined more than 9.3 million Americans who got a legal abortion in the past 10 years, of which 83,000 (0.9%) got one after 20 weeks of gestation.
I’ve seen many on social media wonder: What’s the big deal? She found the healthcare she needed after all, right? And this cross-state journey is rare, right?
Forced abortion travel has doubled following Dobbs. And if you’re one of the lucky few who can travel, this journey isn’t without very real challenges that may not be apparent to the unseen eye. The journey
The journey for an abortion looks very different depending on who you are. In general, though, many challenges could be prevented if we, as a society, accepted abortion as healthcare.
First, many people’s journeys stop before they begin:
* It takes a lot of cash—plane tickets, rental car, hotel rooms, food, and procedure. This adds up to about $10,000-$30,000. As you can imagine, many people can’t afford this, and often, insurance doesn’t cover it.
* Half of all abortion seekers live below the Federal Poverty Level—an income of less than $13k/year.
* This is especially true for adolescents and teens (who make up a big number of later abortion patients), undocumented people, and parents.
If they make the journey, it’s not without other hard realities:
* Pain meds are available. For those later in pregnancy, though, it doesn’t do much. You may not have access to an epidural, depending on the state’s regulations, because you’re at an outpatient clinic. This is unimaginable pain—in all senses of the word.
* Your partner can’t be there to support you during labor, like hold your hand, or coach you through pain. You can’t have a phone, either. Tight security is required at abortion clinics. In the same vein, you walk past protesters yelling at you every morning and every night for a week. You wish, with all your heart, you could enjoy the same level of ignorance.
* Recovering in a hotel room means a cold, unfamiliar place. Without your slippers, without your bed, without your cat, and without access to the comfort food you crave. All you want to be is at home.
* The journey means needing time off from work and getting your FMLA form signed by a physician in another state. All you hope is that your employer won’t ask questions because you don’t have any energy to explain.
* The journey may include carrying the baby’s ashes on an airplane. This requires holding back a flood of emotions in public—exhaustion, grief, anxiety, pain, a strong desire for privacy.
* People who have abortions are no more likely to struggle with mental health than the people who do not—in fact, not getting a needed abortion has been found to increase anxiety and depression in the first 12 months. But there are emotional costs in needing to travel, and much of that is driven by stigma and ostracization of abortion care. Also, recognizing when you need help (remember you don’t have a follow-up appointment with your OB) and finding the right clinician or therapist, given the unique circumstances and the trust required, is hard.
Two things help:
* The confidence in making the right decision: 95% of people who have an abortion say it was the right decision for them. The most common emotion reported afterward is relief.
* The healthcare workers—literally angels on earth—at the abortion clinic ensure moments of human connection, empathy, and support. You feel cared for, which helps tremendously. And the rare souls you trust with your story like family, friends, and clinicians thereafter also help tremendously.
Travel for abortions is increasing
This journey is becoming more common. Before Dobbs, 1 in 10 women having abortions had to travel. Now it’s double— 1 in 5. We see increased travel from many angles:
* While the number of abortions across states has greatly shifted post-Dobbs, the national average hasn’t budged.
* Calls to the National Abortion Hotline for travel services, like hotel rooms and plane tickets, have tripled post-Dobbs and remain high.
National Abortion Federation. Source here.
* Scientists who measured distance to abortion facilities found travel time increased, on average, by three times post- Dobbs. In Texas, for example, the new travel time to the nearest abortion facility increased by almost a full workday.
This speaks to why we see increases in self-managed abortion (i.e., medication abortion). It’s also why colleagues in Latin America, for example, have been supporting people to self-manage with pills up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, which is safe and effective. Bottom line
An increasing number of women are traveling out of state for reproductive healthcare. This journey isn’t without very real obstacles. The most tragic part is much of the associated trauma is preventable if we just had access to local healthcare.
It may be hard to understand, but it’s harder for people to live through. Trust women. Listen to their stories. Trust their voices. It is, after all, their lives and their livelihoods.
Love, YLE
If you want to support travel for abortions, here are some great options.
* The Brigid Alliance supports people who are traveling for abortions at 15+ weeks.
* National Network of Abortion Funds a collective of over 100 abortion funds across the United States.
* Jane’s Due Process funds abortion and practical support for Texas teens traveling for abortion care
Being that she just had a baby she would still qualify for maternity leave from work and under the law her employer would have to give it to her.
Her baby would be adopted in less than 24 hours and she would be on with her life.
How hard was that?
So sorry forgot the link to this hot mess
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/traveling-for-abortions-the-untold
Nevada has had it in the Nevada Revised Statutes since the early 90’s up to 26 weeks or later per doctor. Clean out your wallet and uterus all in one trip. And, no, it is not going to be changed. 🤔
It takes a lot of cash—plane tickets, rental car, hotel rooms, food, and procedure. This adds up to about $10,000-$30,000. As you can imagine, many people can’t afford this, and often, insurance doesn’t cover it.
Bull! The left has told us over and over and over and the economy is totally awesome dude under Biden! /sarc
Half of all abortion seekers live below the Federal Poverty Level—an income of less than $13k/year.
* This is especially true for adolescents and teens (who make up a big number of later abortion patients), undocumented people, and parents.
I wish I had a dollah for every time the left assured us that many middle-aged married women are getting abortions too. Abortion isn't just a thing for teenage party animals and such.
Your partner can’t be there to support you during labor, like hold your hand, or coach you through pain.
And we've been told over and over and over and over that women can be independent and ain't got no need for nobody.
The journey may include carrying the baby’s ashes on an airplane. This requires holding back a flood of emotions in public—exhaustion, grief, anxiety, pain, a strong desire for privacy.
Hell is freezing over! They called it a baby!
Not hard at all except Planned Butcherhood would not be able to make money on the parts. This is so sickening its beyond understanding. All they need to do is use contraception, but no it’s easier to kill and be rid of the “burden”.
Lord help us!!!
I highly doubt anyone can be forced to transport the baby's ashes on an airplane.
All things to consider before getting laid.
Also no need to transport ashes.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Exactly! It wasn’t very hard at all!
amen to that. no reason not to use a condom, or 2.
These women are probably use to getting lots free stuff from the men who impregnate them. It’s quite a shock to have to actually spend their own money, apparently.
.....The Brigid Alliance supports people who are traveling for abortions at 15+ weeks......
St. Brigid does NOT approve!!!!
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/02/01/100406-venerable-brigid-bridget-of-ireland
Blood on the sheets, blood on the floor, blood on the sheets, blood on your own front door.
try Tell'n it to Jesus, Before its far too late. try an save your soul, from that awful fate.
Devils a' waiting, he welcomes you now. stuck with an eternity, you'll gonna cry and howl.
Abortion is not HEALTHCARE.....It is DEATHCARE!
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