For those who aren't up to date on how awful the state of reproductive rights is in the US right now, this thread is a brief rundown. Currently, 90% of US counties have no health clinics that offer abortion. 90%!! Why? A big part of it is something called “TRAP laws".
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Over the past few years, hundreds of TRAP laws (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) have passed across the US, which aim to shut down health clinics down with petty regulations. For instance, in Louisiana, they regulated how big hallways and health clinic rooms had to be.
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When a clinic can’t comply, they are forced to move or shut down. Most clinics can't afford it and close. ~40% of health clinics have closed in the last 5 years. Most are independent (not Planned Parenthood), and ALL provided critical care like cancer screenings & birth control.
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Two TRAP laws were struck down by SCOTUS (woo!), but MOST remain. They require clinics be far from a school, link with a hospital, submit ultrasounds to the government, be a certain temperature. None of the laws, exactly 0, protect patients. In fact, they make it more dangerous.
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With clinics closing, alongside state intrusions on the doctor-patient relationship, it is increasingly difficult to access clinics. To find a provider, go out of town, endure waiting periods, make multiple visits, navigate insurance restrictions -- has made care very expensive.
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So, while abortion is not technically illegal, it is de facto illegal for many (esp rural, poor) Americans because it is so difficult to obtain. Exact numbers are unknown, but surveys suggest 100-240k women *in Texas alone* have attempted their own abortion. ...what year is it??
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But of course with Kavanaugh on the court, things will radically improve.
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