An Undone Right

Dr. Jiana Melendez (in the center) during a protest. Photo courtesy Jiana Melendez.

Reproductive care will be even more challenging for marginalized people after the fall of Roe v. Wade

Words by Yesica Balderrama, @yesica_bald.

When a leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s abortion opinion was released in May, there was little doubt it would go into effect. Within weeks, it was official, and women, nonbinary, trans, and people of other various gender identities had their rights taken away overnight, just before the start of a warm summer weekend. Decades of progress for reproductive rights were undone in a matter of hours when Roe v. Wade was struck down.

Those in states with trigger laws where abortion bans went into effect immediately were impacted first by the SCOTUS decision. People seeking abortions in those thirteen states now have to travel hours or days to their nearest clinic. More than a dozen other states are likely to place bans soon. Organizations and activists are mobilizing to secure reproductive rights.

Money will be the biggest obstacle in getting reproductive care after the fall of Roe v. Wade, says Dr. Jiana Menendez. People who can afford expenses for travel and doctor visits will be able to get abortion procedures regardless of legislation in their state. Menendez is an activist and 34-year-old family physician who works at Planned Parenthood and spends two days a week working at a NYC abortion clinic, and was also a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, an organization of pro-choice medical professionals. 

Black and Latino people make $.61 and $.57, respectively, for every dollar that white men make. Income inequity will play a significant role in how people of color will access reproductive care in locations where it is limited or prohibited. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia are in the top ten low-income states with trigger laws. People seeking abortions in these areas who cannot cover transportation, accommodations, childcare, and food costs or are unable to get time off work to visit an abortion clinic, will be the most vulnerable.

They will be especially impacted by SCOTUS' ruling. Both groups have historically experienced socioeconomic and medical disadvantages that will play a role in accessing adequate healthcare. Black people have the highest rates of abortions and miscarriages in the country, in addition to facing discrimination and biases in the system. In 2019, Black people in 30 reporting areas, accounted for 38% of abortions in comparison to 33% of their white peers, 21% of their Hispanic peers, and 7.2% for people of other races. 

Menendez also added, “people who live in rural areas and who are low income, they will be left behind and will not have a way to access abortion care. Racial, ethnic, poverty, and wealth gaps are alive and well in the United States because of systemic and institutional things that have disadvantaged different groups over time.” 

Texas successfully challenged abortion rights last year by passing legislation that outlaws abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. Elizabeth Estrada, a field and advocacy manager at the New York City chapter of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, an organization that informs communities of color about their reproductive rights and recommends resources such as local clinics and doctors, says that LIRH witnessed a rise in the number of patients who traveled from Texas to NYC for abortion procedures after the law went into effect.

Elizabeth Estrada, a field and advocacy manager at the New York City chapter of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Photo courtesy Elizabeth Estrada.

Estrada expects they will witness a surge of patients in the coming months, “We're going to see overwhelming numbers from these restrictive states that have complete bans coming to New York City,” she says. Estrada is concerned there will not be enough resources for prospective patients, in a healthcare landscape that is, she notes, “already overburdened given the nurse shortage because of COVID.”

Like others who have had abortions, the SCOTUS ruling brought back Elizabeth’s memories of her own procedure. Her first abortion was 15 years ago at the age of 21. She faced the economic struggle of paying for travel and accommodations for a procedure. She now strives to help others resolve similar obstacles. Her own test of fortitude prepared her for a lifetime of reproductive rights advocacy, she says. “I'm an activist and do this as my profession. It is the ability to speak for a movement that has given me purpose and allowed me to help others access their abortions or help destigmatize their own experience.”

Telling an abortion story is not only an act of courage—it is an act of consolation. The procedure is a life-altering event that women never forget and, even if they are accompanied, ultimately go through alone. Tiffany Bueno, a Puerto Rican mother from upstate New York, got pregnant from rape and was too ashamed to tell anyone about her decision to abort. “I was taken advantage of, so I did not feel that it was the right time for me to have a kid in my life,” she says.

Bueno found the clinic for her abortion through word of mouth from friends who shared the information with each other. She is a single mother with a child in elementary school who could not afford to raise a second child on her minimum wage job. It has been almost five years since she made that choice. Looking back, she realized, “I do not regret it. I am still struggling, and I cannot imagine doing it with two children. It still haunts me, even now, and this is a reason why I will not have any more kids.”

Bueno and Estrada are some of the millions of women who made the difficult decision to abort. They made the choice that was best for them and their unborn child. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, an incalculable number of women, trans, and nonbinary people will have to figure out how to get the care they need beyond their home states. They will not have the option of going to a local clinic like Elizabeth and Tiffany, and may encounter challenges obtaining FDA-approved abortion pills. They are also likely to be impacted by complications such as infant mortality, miscarriage, or death. 

As for the future of reproductive rights, Estrada commented, “The reason we are here is because we have not listened to Black, indigenous, and communities of color. Now is the time to seek the leadership, the advice, the expertise, of those in the community that are getting the abortions.”

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Yesica Balderrama is a Mexican journalist and writer. Her work has appeared on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, Latino USA, NPR, iPondr, Prism Reports, Guernica, and others.