In Pennsylvania, well before the Supreme Court came to overturn the ruling Roe v. WadeTwo years ago, a series of measures were put in place to more subtly limit access to abortion. And it unfortunately works too well, deplores a manager of the oldest abortion clinic in this northeastern state of the United States.
“The landscape is very chaotic across the United States, and you see a little bit of everything. Pennsylvania is somewhere in the middle. That is, abortion is still legal, but it is heavily restricted. And that has been the case for years, well before [le jugement de la Cour suprême de 2022] “, he immediately states Duty Roxanne Sutocky, director of community engagement at the Women’s Center of Philadelphia.
She is witnessing, in spite of herself, a “slow deterioration in access” to voluntary termination of pregnancy, which can be explained by the numerous restrictions adopted “on the sly” in recent years. “It’s as if it were accepted to say that abortion can be restricted, as long as it remains legal,” she denounces.
“All the warnings and the bells and sirens started going off when they started making abortion illegal in this country. But if you’re poor, if you live in a rural area [de la Pennsylvanie]abortion was already something inaccessible to you — so it might as well have been illegal — well before the ruling Dobbs. »
A mandatory period of reflection
Among the many hurdles imposed by the state of Pennsylvania is the mandatory reflection period. Women are required by law to appear before their doctor to have a statement read to them and wait 24 hours before they can have an abortion.
“It’s a very paternalistic law, which assumes that people who want an abortion need to take their time and think about it. It’s very stigmatizing,” says Roxanne Sutocky, rolling her eyes at her screen during the interview that took place by videoconference last April.
“The authorities have adopted most of the current rules under the pretext of better protecting women, but in reality they are only barriers.”
She cites as an example the many regulatory requirements that abortion clinics must comply with. “They’re going to be required to have walls of a certain height, operating rooms of a certain size, things like that that don’t provide anything medically, but that make it extremely expensive to offer these services.”
Some clinics have had to close, she says. Others have backed out before they even opened because they refused to pass the bill on to patients so as not to further limit access to abortion for those with little means. Pennsylvania prohibits the use of Medicaid — a government insurance program that covers medical expenses for low-income people — for abortions. “It’s a very effective way to restrict abortion,” says M.me Sutocky. This law is currently being challenged in state courts.
Barriers… for voting too
In the current climate, where many states have banned abortion outright or imposed even more severe restrictions, Mme Sutocky still sees an influx of women from neighboring states. There’s also a lot of travel within the state. And, most importantly, a lot of questions and anxiety among patients.
She is pleased to see that the current governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro, is clearly in favor of abortion. But nothing is ever a given. Especially not with the possibility of Donald Trump taking over the White House. Saying she is “very concerned” about what could happen, she encourages her patients to go vote, reminding them that they must be registered to vote and directing them to resources that offer transportation if needed.
“We know that when people have the opportunity to vote on the issue of abortion, they are generally in favor,” she said. “But we also know that many people who face barriers to having an abortion also face barriers to voting…”