One Arizona abortion clinic — run by a crew of defiant women — has become a haven in the post-Roe vs. Wade United States.
Fifteen women, one man and a baby cooing in a stroller were already lined up outside Camelback Family Planning when it opened on a recent summer morning.
Many abortion clinics nationwide stopped providing services after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 issued the Dobbs decision, which, by overturning Roe vs. Wade, eliminated 50 years of federal protections for abortion care. In Arizona, the move has wrought confusion because the state’s laws are vague on whether abortions are outlawed.
Beyond the waiting room and past the security doors is a team of women. Nurses, technicians and office staff are led by Dr. Gabrielle Goodrich, a no-nonsense 57-year-old OB-GYN with purple scrubs, salt-and-pepper locks and turquoise glasses.The office is understaffed, and the women are close. They range in age from their 20s to their 60s. Some are salty, others sweet, but all are empathetic toward the desperate patients who want to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
For Goodrich, continuing abortion care in a state where many have stopped felt like the right thing to do. In March, the Arizona Legislature passed a ban on all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The law takes effect Sept. 24. A smattering of Arizona clinics still offer medical abortions, which don’t require surgery or anesthesia. There is at least one other clinic in Pima County offering surgical abortions up to 14 weeks and six days of pregnancy.Yolanda, a 32-year-old who didn’t want to give her last name, was among the first patients that Monday morning at Camelback. She was seven weeks and five days pregnant when she discovered that her intrauterine device had failed.
“We are barely getting by. We have two car payments. We have insurance payments,” she said. “Then we have to buy groceries for five freaking kids, and they eat a lot.” While the world outside has grown uncertain, the camaraderie at the clinic has grown stronger. They argue sometimes, Lopez-McKinnon said, but they look out for one another.
“Oh, my God. I can’t do this right now,” is what she thought when she discovered she was about four weeks pregnant, she said. She knew about the Dobbs decision and thought she might have to go to California.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Letters to the Editor - Readers discuss the Roe vs. Wade decisionRe: “Supporting families in post-Roe Texas — Buckner programs still focused on serving vulnerable children, women,” by Scott Collins, July 31 Opinion. I was...
Read more »
Sterilization Laws Are Still on the Books -- and Pose New Dangers Post-“Roe”The legacy of eugenics threatens to break forth with the aid of an unchecked and compromised Supreme Court.
Read more »
Genetic Counselors Scramble Post- Roe to Provide Routine Pregnancy Services without Being Accused of a CrimeThe Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade means that prenatal advice to patients can suffer and that counselors can face lawsuits and criminal charges
Read more »
Perspective | My search for the right birth control just got scarier post-RoePerspective: The overturning of Roe v. Wade introduces uncertainty into decisions on birth control, Dabin Han writes.
Read more »
Indiana becomes 1st state to approve abortion ban post RoeIndiana on Friday became the first state in the nation to approve abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, as the Republican governor quickly signed a near-total ban on the procedure shortly after lawmakers approved it.
Read more »
Sweeping Indiana abortion ban enacted, the first such law since Roe overturnedIndiana has approved a near-total ban on abortion that will take effect Sept. 15, the latest domino to fall from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and let states decide their own rules.
Read more »