Eight US states have worked to try to halt abortions entirely during the pandemic as clinics report a rise in demand.
A woman in Texas was isolating with her family. She was frightened and carried a secret: she was eight weeks pregnant.
Even under normal circumstances, obtaining an abortion in Texas is described as “mostly impossible”. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, politicians in Texas and seven other states have worked to try to halt abortions entirely. They have undertaken costly lawsuits to restrict abortion in the name of health and safety, even as doctors lined up against them.
Experts have described the order as the most chaotic 30 days since 2013, when Texas imposed severe restrictions on abortion clinics, later overturned by the supreme court.
Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia have all seen confusion and intermittent bans as anti-abortion state politicians categorized abortion services as non-essential, and included abortion clinics in bans on elective surgical procedures. The orders have left women desperate, as appointments were cancelled, rescheduled and cancelled again subject to court rulings.
“I am scared to go outside,” said the Texas woman, who the Guardian is not naming because her family is not aware she is pregnant and seeking an abortion. Her story was provided by We Testify, a group which collects women’s stories of seeking abortions. “I just saw the news about Ohio and that scared me that I can’t get an abortion in time,” she said about restrictions in that state. “Now, they did it in Texas. I don’t know what to do…”
To read the entire article from The Guardian, click https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/us-states-ban-abortions-coronavirus-leave-women-desperate
