Long Drives, Costly Flights, And Wearying Waits: What Abortion Requires In The South

Article originally appeared in NPR on August 2nd, 2021.

Vikki Brown, 33, who works in education in New Orleans, says she initially tried to end her pregnancy in Louisiana. When she called her gynecologist for advice, a receptionist said she was "disgusted" by the request. Brown sought out the lone abortion clinic operating in New Orleans but found it besieged with both protesters and patients. "I knew but didn't understand how difficult it was to get care," says Brown, who moved to Louisiana in 2010 from New York City. "The clinic was absolutely full. People were sitting on the floor. It was swamped." It took her six hours to get an ultrasound, which cost $150, she says.