She was 8 weeks pregnant and had no chance. She called me for help

It’s early May, and M. is calling from a southeastern state that just outlawed abortion after six weeks. M. tells me that she is eight weeks pregnant, and I can hear the nervousness and fear in her voice. She is from the West Indies and is in her early twenties. M. says she cannot afford the cost of the abortion in addition to the cost of the trip to New York.

“I can only stay for two days,” she says. “I have children at home to take care of.”

I work at the New York City Health Department’s Abortion Access Center. Launched in a few months in Supreme CourtThe 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to ban or restrict abortions, we provide confidential assistance in finding an abortion provider here in New York.

Women like M., ranging in age from their teens to their 40s, call us every day, speaking languages ​​such as Spanish, Haitian Creole, Ukrainian, Mandarin, and many others. We help people find appointments, get financial assistance, find transportation and housing. We can provide referrals regardless of whether the subscriber lives in New York and regardless of their immigration status.

Although we are based in New York, we get a significant influx of calls from states like Florida, where abortion is highly restricted, and Texas, which has strict bans. As a result, we are the first to respond to the growing public health need for affordable abortions.

When states make abortion unavailable, they are actually outsourcing it. People don’t stop needing abortion help with the stroke of a pen. Forcing people to travel hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to get the medical care they need only makes abortion even more burdensome.

Financial costs alone are punishing. Many callers do not have the money or resources to have another child. Most can’t even afford an abortion even if they have health insurance — some policies don’t cover abortions.

Some subscribers are insured by their parents and cannot risk disclosing their care. In addition, they often face travel costs, lost wages due to vacations, and the need to care for children, all of which are barriers to accessing the basic care that should be available in their communities.

Every day I witness the damage that misinformation and lack of information can do to people. When you search the internet, a million things come up. Anti-abortion organizations were overwhelmed Google search zone, spreading lies about abortion and even birth control.

Callers often have incorrect information or do not understand the differences between medical and procedural abortion. Limiting access to abortion means limiting basic health care, leaving people to navigate a maze that is often overwhelming. Subscribers expect us to provide reliable information.

I remember a Hispanic caller who told me she thought she had taken “abortion pills” but they “didn’t work”—she was still pregnant. I put her in touch with a provider who discovered that she had not taken the abortion pill, she had taken Plan B, an emergency contraceptive to be taken the morning after unprotected sex, at 6 weeks. That’s what we’re here for: to connect callers like her with providers of safe and effective care.

One of the biggest burdens is the shame, confusion, and stress that many callers experience. You can hear in their voices that they desperately need help. After connecting callers to a service provider in New York and a source of financial assistance, I hear the relief in their voices. It is very nice to tell someone in trouble, help and hope.

It takes courage to work in the Hub, taking calls from countless people in dire circumstances. But I have a really supportive team and we can share information and stories. Thanks to them, I can react better and stay calm. They are what make the Hub a safe haven for those who may feel like there is no one else they can rely on. That no one can tell them that everything will be okay anymore.

To the leaders of countries that have banned or restricted abortion, I can only say that it is being done to your families and your communities because of you. People who can least afford it travel for days, hundreds of miles, under enormous stress. Why would you force that on anyone? I know because I talk to them almost every day and hear the immense pain you are causing your neighbors, colleagues and loved ones.

Jazmin Gil Marquez is a navigator at the Abortion Access Center in New York.

All opinions expressed belong to the author.

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