What It’s Like, Day 1: 7:32 a.m., San Antonio, Texas
By Planned Parenthood Action Fund | Dec. 12, 2022, 11:12 a.m.
Category: Abortion Access, State Attacks
It took two days for Rebecca* to realize her period was late. It took 30 minutes to pick up a pregnancy test during her lunch break. Five minutes to get a positive result.
Before Texas lawmakers banned abortion, Rebecca would have had options. Close to home, affordable, and accessible. Now, she has no choice but to make the 700-mile drive from San Antonio, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Since the Supreme Court took away our constitutional right to abortion, many states — like Texas — have banned abortion outright. This is now the reality for countless people. It's up to us — Planned Parenthood Action Fund, our allies, and you — to change the laws in states where abortion is now banned, to restore and expand access for people like Rebecca.
Like the majority of people who seek abortion, Rebecca is already a parent. She has two children under the age of six at home. She understands what it is to be pregnant, what it means to go through labor, what it means to love and care for a child and want to give them the best life possible. She knows what is best for her and the children she already has.
So at 7:32 in the morning, Rebecca hugs her two kids and goes over the final checklist with the babysitter who will be looking after them for the next three days. She’s lucky she found a neighbor who can watch them on short notice — even if she isn’t sure how she can afford to miss three shifts at work and pay for extra childcare.
She gets into her car and begins the 11-hour journey to Albuquerque, where lawmakers have fought to ensure that abortion remains legal and accessible. It’s more than 700 miles each way, and she tries not to think about how much the gas will cost. She knows she does not have better options — not in Texas, not now.
Situations like Rebecca’s are playing out again and again. Each one is a sign of just how broken and unjust our system is and how urgently we must act to reverse abortion bans and expand support for people seeking care.
Power the Fight to Stop Abortion Bans
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* This is a fictional story — based in part on real stories from patients facing the abortion access crisis in the United States.
Tags: abortion access, 72 Hours
