One Year Post-Roe, The Abortion Care Landscape Is Dramatically Changed

Alison Dreith has spent years of her life fighting for abortion rights in a region of the country where attacks on bodily autonomy are the norm, not the exception. As the Midwest Access Coalition’s (MAC) director of strategic partnerships, she’s helped hundreds of people maneuver through the increasingly complicated process of accessing abortion care. Since Roe was overturned last year, the abortion fund’s net of support has expanded further across the country. MAC now helps a large population of Southerners access care in Illinois, an outlier in the Midwest that allows abortions to take place until the time a fetus can exist outside of the womb, around 24 to 26 weeks gestation.

For the last three years, Dreith has also worked part-time for Women’s Health Specialists of California, a small clinic nestled in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Dreith told Prism the clinic has recently seen multiple patients from Texas. This is part of a larger, nationwide trend. When Roe was overturned, it created a dangerous domino effect: More abortion bans and restrictions meant fewer clinics providing care. Fewer clinics providing care meant clinic wait times got longer. Those living in states with six or 12-week bans do not have weeks to wait for a clinic appointment.