The May 17 news article “Abortion laws triggered dozens of health complications, researchers find” shed important light on the rise in serious medical complications pregnant people are facing after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But the toll on pregnant people is not just physical. The impact of state-level abortion bans on people’s mental health is often overlooked but also critical.
Research and experience show that forcing people to travel long distances to receive abortion care frequently causes them to undergo a range of negative emotions, including distress, stress, anxiety and shame. Since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the distance people need to travel to reach an abortion provider has more than tripled. Clients of the Brigid Alliance now travel an average of 1,300 miles round trip to access abortion care, and they face myriad financial and logistical obstacles along the way.
The organization exists to provide all-inclusive support to people traveling to reach an abortion provider — and to alleviate some of the emotional burden they experience as they navigate this difficult time in their lives. But until abortions are burden-free and accessible to everyone, people’s physical and mental health will continue to suffer.
The writer is interim executive director of the Brigid Alliance.
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