A woman waits in an office for an abortion at a clinic in West Palm Beach, Florida, weeks ago. Photo: AFP
Dr. D. has never had as much work as she is now. The abortion clinic where she practices, in Jacksonville, Florida, is overwhelmed by the arrival of patients from neighboring states, as many of them severely limited voluntary termination of pregnancy using a controversial decision of the United States Supreme Court.
“I used to see about 25 patients in a typical working day, now I see about 45. There is a lot of demand,” complains this doctor who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of receiving threats from anti-abortion militants.
Despite reducing the abortion deadline from 24 to 15 weeks in July, Florida is now one of the most forgiving places terminate pregnancy in the Southeastern United States.
Around, other conservative majority states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Georgia it almost completely banned this practice or shortened its duration to six weeks, after the Supreme Court on June 24 annulled the right to abortion at the federal level.
That decision led many women to travel to clinics in Florida, including the center where Dr. D. works, owned by the NGO Planned Parenthood, one of the largest reproductive service providers in the country.
A protest against the US Supreme Court ruling outside an abortion clinic in West Hollywood, California. Photo: AP
“Desperate situation”
“We are in a desperate situation. I would call it a public health emergency,” says Laura Goodhue, executive director of that organization’s affiliate alliance in Florida.
Planned Parenthood was forced to open its doors on weekends and extend its working hours, with 12-hour days in some of its clinics, before the increase in out-of-office patientsmostly women from Georgia, Alabama and Texas.
He also wants to hire nine more doctors, many of whom will travel to Florida a few days a week from those neighboring states where they can no longer work, Goodhue explains.
In the kitchen of the Jacksonville clinic, Dr. D. rests between patient and patient. Her work allowed her to see firsthand some of the consequences of abortion restrictions in the southeastern United States.
“It’s very disheartening to see all of this,” says the 33-year-old doctor.
Out-of-state patients must take several days off from work, as Florida’s new law requires a woman to have two appointments at least 24 hours apart before having an abortion, he explains.
The restriction of the right to abortion has sparked strong protests in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington. Photo: REUTERS
They also need to find a way to travel and stay in the state, and sometimes find someone to take care of their children.
A series of obstacles to which is now added the reduction of the legal duration to abort in Florida.
“Unfortunately, if we do an ultrasound and see it’s more than 15 weeks, we can’t help them and we have to provide them with resources to go to other states. And that extends their journey to get this essential health care even more,” explains the. doctor d
Testimonials
About 280 miles south of Jacksonville, at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in West Palm Beach, Jasmine (a pseudonym) is about to have an abortion surgery.
She’s 23 and got pregnant after the boy she’d been dating for three months broke her condom. The morning after pill you ordered online came too late.
She hesitated for a long time before leaving, but she preferred to have an abortion to finish her university studies. “I know it’s the best for me, even if it’s a tough decision,” she says. “One night of error doesn’t have to lead to a permanent change in life,” she justified.
Jasmine lives in Florida and cannot imagine the experience of traveling from another state to have an abortion. But she suffered doubts and stress generated by the decision of the Supreme Court.
“In Florida, you have up to 15 weeks and that could have changed at any time, like in the other states. There was a lot of crying and a lot of nervousness,” he recalls.
Source: AFP
CB
Gerard Martinez
Source: Clarin
