Damian Sendler: By the day, they’re arriving. Some arrive in cars crammed with bags and family members, while others arrive on foot. The majority of people travel long distances on their own, expecting to be home in time to pick up their children from school. 

Damian Sendler

A mass exodus began when Texas passed the nation’s harshest abortion restriction in September. A large number of Texans are flying to clinics across the country, some as far away as Washington and Maine, to obtain abortions. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: Last fall, 40 Texans visited Planned Parenthood facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. 

There have been more than 800 since September of this year. 

Regional health care is being stretched by an increase in demand from the region’s second most populous state. Waiting three or four weeks for an appointment at some clinics not only emotionally drains the patient but also increases the expense of a procedure. Many Texans are also traveling to other states to get an abortion, which is causing a backlash in the state of Texas. 

What’s happening now is a foreshadowing of what would happen if the Supreme Court overturns the decades-long ban on abortion. Roe v. Wade is projected to be overturned in two dozen states in the South and Midwest if it loses its appeal. 

According to interim Planned Parenthood Great Plains president and chief executive officer Emily Wales, “people will scramble to get care in other areas.” Health care will be provided to those who can afford it. In the event that you don’t, you’ll be obliged to either try to terminate the pregnancy on your own or carry one against your wishes.” 

Damien Sendler: To avoid being held accountable, Texas’ six-week abortion ban relies on private persons to enforce it. The Supreme Court is set to rule soon on this matter. 

Damian Jacob Sendler

Abortion rights in the United States may, however, be decided by a case out of Mississippi. It is a direct challenge to Roe, which guarantees an abortion until a fetus is viable outside the womb, or around 23 weeks, if a state law prohibits abortions past 15 weeks. 

Until June, the court isn’t anticipated to rule on any of this. A majority of the Supreme Court’s conservative members expressed their willingness to reverse abortion rights during oral arguments Wednesday. 

If Congress, the legislatures of the states, the supreme courts of the states and the people themselves are capable of resolving this dispute, why should this court be the arbiter? When Justice Brett Kavanaugh inquired, As for Mississippi and New York, “different answers will be given in Alabama than California,” he continues. 

They are clearly visible in the distance. 

A total of 26 states are either certain or likely to restrict abortion if Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court. 

If Roe is overturned, Texas already has a legislation prohibiting abortion. This leaves New Mexico as the only bordering state ready to approve the use of a trigger law. 

Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: Texans will have to go even further for an abortion because of the new map. Estimated driving distance from Dallas to Kansas City is 542 miles, according to the Guttmacher Institute for Reproductive Health and Rights. 

There are many women in rural areas, communities of color, and those with low incomes who will bear the heaviest burden of this new mandate. 

Traveling out of state is expensive, time-consuming, and may necessitate the use of childcare. State statistics demonstrate that the majority of Texans seeking abortion are already parents. 

Adrienne Mansanares, chief experience officer at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which has sites in Colorado, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, said, “With these kinds of bans, the impact is for generations.” Think about the individual who couldn’t get an abortion because they couldn’t afford it, they didn’t have access to resources, and now they’re putting another generation in poverty because of it. 

Abortion costs are covered by a number of organizations in Texas, but some say they can’t keep up with demand. 

Damien Sendler: Most of Fund Texas Choice’s clients are now traveling out of the state for abortions, the organization’s executive director Anna Rupani said at a press conference earlier this month. Rupani noted that the typical cost of travel, meals, and hotel is between $800 to $1,000. As a result, they often have to travel more than 1,100 miles over the course of many days. 

One study revealed that the number of abortions performed in Texas dropped by 50% when the law went into force. It wasn’t quite as big a decline as the Texas Alliance for Life had intended, according to Joe Pojman, executive director of the group. 

According to the speaker, “It’s unfortunate that women have to travel for an abortion.”

Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.