There was a palpable change in the atmosphere at an abortion clinic in Little Rock, Arkansas, the morning the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. At that moment, everything turned upside down.
The doors at the end of the hallway leading to the patient area were instantly closed—behind them, you could hear the sound of sobbing.
The BBC has spent the last three weeks at the Little Rock Family Planning Services Clinic interviewing staff and patients.
Now, the Supreme Court — the country’s most important legal body — has nullified the right to abortion.
When the decision was announced, the clinic staff asked us to leave immediately so they could have time to process what had happened on their own.
The companions of patients who were at the clinic gave a group hug.
“I thought this country would still care about people. It would still care about women,” said Karen, one of the escorts.
Outside, anti-abortion protesters cheered, but said there were more things that needed to be changed.
“It will be a day of celebration, but we will not fully celebrate until abortion is eradicated from our land,” Hoyt Plunkett told the BBC.
“Be forewarned!” another protester shouted at people still parking their cars at the clinic who had not heard of the decision.
“My suggestion is that you turn around and leave this place of sin, this place of inequality, this place of evil,” he said.
Across the United States, clinics like the one in Little Rock are closing their doors.
Arkansas and 12 other states have a “trigger law” to ban or restrict abortion if Roe v. Wade — the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion — is overturned.
When the Supreme Court made its decision Friday morning, giving states the authority to restrict abortion, those trigger laws began to take effect.
While some states, such as Texas, have set a period until the law takes effect, in Arkansas it took effect almost immediately.
Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas attorney general, told the BBC that she supports the trigger law and the Supreme Court ruling. “I think a lot of us didn’t think this would happen in our lifetimes,” she said.
Abortion is only legal to save the mother’s life — there are no exceptions for rape or incest.
“This is an innocent life we’re talking about. And this innocent life that starts at conception,” Rutledge said. “Having been raised under evil circumstances doesn’t make this innocent child evil.”
Now, people in Arkansas who are facing an unwanted pregnancy have fewer options. They can leave the state for an abortion — the nearest clinic in a state that allows abortion is five hours away — or they can decide to keep the child.
The state does not have any kind of parental leave, and Medicaid — publicly funded health insurance — only covers low-income mothers for 60 days after giving birth.
Rutledge said the Arkansas government has “always been supportive of these moms” but that they “always need to look for more ways to help dads who want to be loving parents, and make sure we take care of these kids.”
Staff at the Little Rock clinic spent the morning calling patients to cancel appointments and help them reschedule in different states.
Ashli Hunt, a nurse, burst into tears the morning the decision came out and ran outside to catch her breath.
“No matter how much we prepare for the bad news, when it finally comes, it hits hard. Having to call these patients and tell them that Roe v. Wade has been taken down is heartbreaking,” she said a few hours later. after having had time to process the news.
She has worked at the clinic for 14 years. Ashli said she is heartbroken for the patients who are losing the right to choose, but also for herself.
“Not only are they taking away the choice from women, they’re taking away from me the choice to work with what I think I have to do,” she said. “My choice is included in that too.” Jenifer Thompson, who arrived as a patient for more than a decade before becoming a member of the team, said the clinic helped save her life.
She said that after having an abortion here (and then supporting her not to get pregnant), she was so impressed with the care they provided that she started volunteering.
She was eventually hired and graduated in nursing. Alcohol problems led to her being fired, but she said “the best boss in the world” gave her a second chance by rehiring her as she started to recover.
Now, she says she’s devastated that she can’t help women like she used to.
“I have to tell them, ‘I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can do for you. I’m sorry that your boyfriend hits you every day, and that he rapes you all the time, you’ll have to find another place. to go,'” she said.
“I mean, I can give them information to help try, but it’s heartbreaking. This place has literally saved my life several times over.”
Late Friday night, about 1,000 protesters had gathered outside the state Legislative Assembly, mostly to protest the Supreme Court’s decision.
One of the attendants from the clinic was there. “Today we are in mourning. Tomorrow we are fighting,” she said.
Text originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-61940147
