What awaits a woman who decides to have an abortion in the United States
'27.05.2018'
Source: Air force
Ten women walk down a long, crowded corridor, illuminated by cold daylight lamps. All of them are naked from the waist down, with wide white bandages on the hips.
The women are sent to the so-called recreation room - a room without windows, inside which there are only massive sofas and a TV. This is a small clinic Hope ("Hope") in Shreveport in northwest Louisiana. She specializes in abortion, says Air force.
This is the only institution of this kind within 320 km, and the coverage area of this clinic is constantly expanding. Patients come here not only from rural Louisiana, but also from nearby states of Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. Empty seats in the clinic quickly fly away. Today at the reception recorded 30 women. Only one of them did not come. Abortions in Hope done mainly in early pregnancy - in the first trimester. These operations usually take 10 minutes.
“Do you think that's a lot? Come see what's going on here on Saturdays, ”says Hospital Administrator Cataline Pittman.
This tall 60-year-old Louisiana native gives the impression of a straightforward and fearless woman. It is not surprising: in the provision of services for abortion, she worked 35 years. When Pittman started working in the clinic Hope in the 1980s, access to abortion was not at all the same as it is now. The state operated 11 clinics where it was possible to terminate a pregnancy. However, over the past decade, the number of such institutions across the country has dropped significantly. In seven states, there is now only one left. In 2017 - Donald Trump's first year as president of the United States - 19 states passed 63 laws toughening abortion. In 29 states, including Louisiana, there is an active political struggle against the constitutional right to abortion, so severe restrictions are introduced in them. Opponents of abortion have become more active than ever.
Lucy
Lucy traveled to the clinic for three hours from a small town. She is in the ninth week. Works as a cashier in the store. To come to the clinic, the woman took the day off. I asked to bring a friend. She 21. Alone raising a daughter, which is not even a year. There are no parents, they live in another state.
“Bradley is a really happy kid,” says Lucy. - In October she will be a year old, and I just can't have a second child in a few months. I will not pull two children. Even if the child's father was against abortion, I would still do it. ”
The woman shakes her head resolutely. Her round face with chubby cheeks is framed by a short head of hair. She is ready to consult a psychologist - required by state law. This is a one-on-one conversation with one of the clinic's counselors, during which the patient must complete a long, detailed informed consent form. The consultant on duty, Delia, explains in detail what complications may arise. "Infections, blood clots, bleeding, rupture of the uterine wall," Delia reads. Lucy listens without a shadow of doubt on her face. Then she says that she may need financial help, since she earns $ 525 a week, and an abortion at the clinic at this stage of pregnancy costs 550.
“Will I regret this? I don't think ... I already have a child. I think later I can give birth to another one. But honestly, I don’t want to. I've had enough of my daughter, ”she says.
Security and Surveillance
In the clinic Hope the receptionist at the entrance passes patients by opening the armored door with a button. At the same time, she monitors the perimeter of the clinic on the monitor screen, which displays images from 15 external surveillance cameras.
When the presidential campaign began in 2016 in the year, the number of attacks on such clinics, including unauthorized entry into their territory, burglary and vandalism, sharply increased in the country. The cases of harassment of employees of clinics and attacks on them have also become more frequent. Over the year in the United States passed more than 61 thousand pickets against abortion. This is the highest figure for all time statistics. In 2016, nearly one-half of all abortion hospitals reported cases of violence of one kind or another. This is 6,2% percent more than in 2014 year.
The gynecologist, who has worked in this hospital for 36 years, performs abortion operations here twice a week. Activists accuse him of "killing babies" and threaten to "send him to Jesus." The doctor had to ask the police to guard his house. Abortion is a “reproductive choice” to which women should be entitled, he said.
According to surveys, about 57% of Americans believe that in most cases, abortion should still be allowed by law. At the same time, 40% of respondents, most of whom are Republicans, would prefer that premature termination of pregnancy be banned.
"Praying Warriors"
“The issue of abortion has become especially hot lately, because there is no more important topic in life than life itself,” says an anti-abortion spokesman in Shreveport. We met at the building of the medical center Bossierlocated in 15 minutes from the clinic Hope. The center closed in April 2017. This is a modest brick building, next to an empty parking lot.
David, a father of three, describes himself as a committed Christian. He participates in the “40 Days to Live” campaign, a course of prayer meetings led by activists outside the clinic. They call themselves praying warriors. Retired Carol Harris tries to hand out leaflets to patients at the clinic. “It's not just your choice,” reads the headline of the colorful booklet she holds in her hands. It features photographs of a fetus at different stages of development, the story of a woman regretting an abortion, and information on two local maternity support centers that help expectant mothers with free diapers and formula milk.
Catalia
Katalia avoids talking with activists, quickly passing by them to the clinic. She is wearing sweatpants, flip-flops and a worn red shirt. Her hair is gathered in a bun. 22-year-old girl two hours traveled here from the town of Mount Pleasant in Texas to have an abortion. The second in life.
“The guy and I have already agreed that we now have no funds for the child. Here either get rid of it, or give it up for adoption ... But I can't imagine giving someone my child, ”she says.
The couple already have a one-year-old son, Andre. When, four months after giving birth, Kataliya became pregnant again, she developed complications, and on the advice of doctors, she decided to terminate the pregnancy. Now the situation is different. Together they make about $ 800 a month working 10-hour shifts at a local food processing plant. Such stories are well known to the clinic staff. Financial problems are the main explanation from women coming here to terminate pregnancies, they said. They are overwhelmingly black, poorly educated and have no access to contraception.
An ultrasound test has confirmed that Catalia is in her fifth month of pregnancy. She refuses to look at the screen during this procedure. Catalia cries, tears running down her cheeks. “It's not the child's fault. It's nobody's fault, ”she says. She pauses, sighs deeply, wipes away her tears and looks up, already full of determination: "We just can't afford it ... I'm sorry."
Battlefield
It is not easy to officially ban abortion in the United States. During the first six months of Trump's rule, 431 state laws were passed restricting women's access to termination of pregnancy. Then, in the first quarter of 2018, 37 states introduced 308 restrictions. However, there is also a reverse legislative process. An extraordinary number of measures have been developed to protect reproductive rights - over 700 in 44 states. Louisiana has proposed one of the most controversial laws of all - a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of gestation instead of the current 20 weeks. This norm was recently approved by the State Senate. If the law is eventually passed, it will become the second most stringent in terms of gestational age.
The most stringent law was passed in May in Iowa. State legislators, most of whom are Republicans, have banned abortions from the moment a fetus can detect a heartbeat. This usually occurs after the sixth week. Opponents consider this law unconstitutional. “Constraints, constraints… every year there are more of them,” says Catalyn Pittman. “Perhaps the biggest impact on us was the 24 hour waiting period.” Since 1995, all women are required to see a doctor at least 24 hours before an abortion so that they have time to reflect on their decision. Louisiana now wants to extend this to 72 hours.
Most of Hope's patients are between 20 and 30 years old. Most of them already have at least one child, and many, like Lucy, are single mothers who can barely make ends meet. About 80% of them live below the poverty line. And they have to allocate $ 500 of their funds for an operation that, by law, cannot be paid from the state and national budgets. Most health insurance does not cover it either.
Saturday
On Saturdays the most crowded clinic. This Saturday in Shreveport raging hurricane. An 50 abortion is planned, which is twice the normal weekday. Rain does not stop patients. In the operating room is preparing. The nurses unfold white sheets on the beds where women can recover from the operation. From the operating room, the sounds of the vacuum pump operation are periodically heard.
There is also a surge in activity outside. A group of anti-abortionists gathered on the sidewalk. 32 people of different ages are participating in the action. They stretched out in chains and slowly walk one after the other, whispering prayers. In hands - Bibles, crosses and images of Jesus. A van with a huge billboard depicts a fetus and says "Will you protect me?" On the other side of the poster is the child's face and the inscription “I could hear my mother's voice even before birth. Fact: Life begins after conception. "
One week later
When I called Lucy a week after the operation, she said she had recovered and returned to work at the store. But not everything went as she had planned.
“It was bad, very painful, although they said it wouldn’t hurt,” she complains. Lucy says she will never do it again, and not only because it physically hurts. “I feel… some kind of regret. I spoke to his father. I think I would have left the child ... I did not think that I would regret, but, in truth, it is, ”she admits.
Catalia also ended up having an abortion. Her partner supported her choice, took her to the clinic and waited four hours. On the way home, they bought her favorite ice cream. “Of course it's hard. You don't make such decisions without thinking. But it was better for our family, for me ... And it is a great relief that I had such an opportunity, that I have the right to come and have an abortion, ”she says.
