- A pregnant patient receives new, sometimes unexpected, information about their pregnancy
- A pregnant patient is delayed in accessing care
New Information About Pregnancy
Patients often receive new information about their pregnancy during or after a 20-week ultrasound. This information could involve the developing fetus or the viability of the pregnancy, genetic testing results, or an emerging medical issue that impacts the pregnancy. Sometimes, it’s the pregnant patient’s own health, like a cancer diagnosis.
In response, patients take many different paths. Some seek second or third opinions before accessing abortion care, others opt for a “wait and see” approach, and some receive abortion care quickly due to medical emergencies.
Delays in Accessing Care
Patients who face delays in accessing care often live in states with abortion bans or severe restrictions. These individuals may decide early in their pregnancy to seek abortion care but are forced to navigate logistical and financial barriers including:
- Arranging to travel from their home state to another to receive intimate care from a doctor they’ve never met.
- Fundraising to cover costs like flights, gas, hotels and childcare (as about 55% of abortion patients already have children).
- Managing work absences or navigating safety concerns, such as intimate partner violence.
For some patients, these delays in care mean grieving on their way home, far from their support systems, after receiving care from unfamiliar providers. Others face the additional challenges of managing logistics that are entirely new to them, such as flying and arranging travel.
There is no point in pregnancy when the government becomes more qualified than a pregnant person to make medical decisions about their health. These decisions, which can impact both the patient and their family, should be made without added cruelty, shame, stigma, and dangerous interference of politicians who have no knowledge of a person’s medical history or life. There is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to pregnancy and maternal health.