Waukeshahealthinsurance.com-
Jacksonville, Florida
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On Tuesday afternoon, Mikenzie Buchanan picked up the clipboards piled behind the front desk at an abortion clinic here on Woman's Choice. It was almost too much to handle. On each clipboard, behind a blue cover to protect privacy, were documents and charts for patients who visited the clinic that day to receive medical abortions.
“Starting tomorrow I'll be doing a lot less of these,” said Buchanan, who was working a desk a few months ago.
Over the past two days, the Jacksonville clinic has been seeing two to four times as many patients as usual. But today, May 1, a significant change to Florida's abortion law went into effect, reducing the 15-week ban to a six-week ban — a time long before many women. Find out if they are pregnant.
Florida has become a key destination for abortion in the South in the years since the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision struck down federal abortion rights, so the new restrictions will be rolled out across the state and the wider region.
Buchanan is often the first person people see when they arrive for their appointment. Some incoming patients are unaware of the new six-week restriction, but many worry and worry about “beating the clock.” “I also feel a sense of urgency. I don't want to add to any stress. But we're definitely making sure you get behind the scenes as quickly as possible and get to where you need to be.
Candace, a 36-year-old mother of two from Jacksonville, learned about Florida's six-week ban when she called A Woman's Choice to schedule an abortion. She was within that limit when she made her appointment Tuesday, but she worries about what it means for the future, including her teenage daughter.
“I'm relieved to be able to come in, and I feel lucky, you know, now, I have a voice, and I have rights over my own body. But waking up tomorrow – it's devastating. “I know that my son and I will wake up tomorrow with less rights than today,” she said. The new deadline caused panic in Candace, who experienced a high-risk pregnancy and a traumatic birth. including the death of the newborn. Now, she's over 35 and worries she's at greater risk.
“I'm so scared,” she said. “My life is important.”
Candace said she would have preferred a surgical abortion, but opted to discontinue medication to make room for more women from other states who wanted to travel.
Last year, nearly 8,000 people traveled out of state to get abortions in Florida, according to data from the state health department — about one-tenth of all abortions in the state and more than three times the number five years ago. After the Dobbs decision, nine of the 16 states in the South banned abortion. Florida now joins Georgia and South Carolina with a six-week ban. That leaves just three states in this US census region — Delaware, Maryland and Virginia — where abortion remains legal beyond the first trimester, and North Carolina at the 12-week limit.
The parking lot behind the one-story gray building that houses the Women's Choice clinic in Jacksonville was full for weeks before the new ban, and some patients had to park in adjacent lots, a group of clinic attendants told . The clinic accompanies volunteers to help avoid harassment and danger when patients and staff come and go from abortion facilities.
Ryan Moran, an attendant at the clinic who has volunteered for years, said the crowded parking lot and long parking distances made their role vital.
“Trying to get all these appointments together before May 1 to get people the care they need is a struggle,” he said.
On Wednesday, at least a half-dozen abortion advocates stationed themselves behind the Jacksonville clinic, routinely walking up and down the parking lot to make parking lines for potential patients.
Florida's new six-week ban is “pro-life and pro-feminist,” said one man named Wayne. “Today we see this as a victory for all women. Not a win for us at all.
By 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, the last day for Florida to allow abortions up to 15 weeks, a woman's choice in Jacksonville had all patients with appointments for the day checked in, and the parking lot filled again, a half-dozen clinics dotted with large rainbow umbrellas and a sheriff's patrol car. . On a busy day, the clinic was running a few hours behind schedule, so the parking lot emptied a little slower than usual in the afternoon.
Florida law requires abortion seekers to make an in-person visit for an ultrasound, lab work and an in-person appointment with a doctor at least 24 hours before they are scheduled to receive the procedure or medication. Sometimes, patients wait weeks to return for their second appointment — in some cases, so long that the lab work expires and the process must start over. But in the past couple of days, with the new lockdown coming in, more patients have turned up for their second appointments to make sure they arrive on time.
The last day before the new ban takes effect may seem like business as usual. Up and down the clinic's bright yellow corridors with inspirational quotes, patients wait behind closed doors for their appointments. They meet medical professionals in exam rooms or sit on heating pads in leather-backed chairs to recover.
But it has been months of work to get to this point.
Supreme Court of Florida He made the decision The six-week ban cleared the way on April 1, 30 days before it took effect. Women's Choice often schedules appointments a few weeks apart, so alternate plans had to be made for some patients once the decision was made public.
All that coordination takes place in a call center across the parking lot from the clinic, where a handful of operators answer a steady stream of calls from people wanting to understand their options and schedule appointments at one of Women's Choice's five clinics: the Jacksonville area; three in North Carolina, where abortion is legal up to 12 weeks; And in Virginia where there are no restrictions.
“Having this network of clinics in different jurisdictions allows call center staff to make real-time adjustments to help patients find the best option for their situation,” said Gabby Long, director of the Women's Choice hotline.
“Having that direct line makes it easier for patients,” she said. “When you go somewhere you already know, 'Oh, I don't know where to call. I don't know where to go. What is my next step?'
Communicating with patients about the new ban in Florida has been frustrating, but managing what it means to patients and how they might feel is nothing new, Long said.
“I feel like we're more prepared for this just because we've seen a lot of change,” she said. “My biggest thing was my kids in the call center – it's just human. Pay attention only to patients. Put yourself in their shoes. Because we know our patients are under stress. We know they are afraid. They just want access to basic health care. But there are always options for our patients.
Sometimes, that option may mean coordinating care for patients in the Virginia area and helping them find abortion funds to help them make the 500-mile trip from Jacksonville.
The Virginia clinic just opened in February; It is so new that the address, a few miles from the southern tip of the state, is not yet included in the printed materials that can be found around the offices.
But opening that clinic in anticipation of stricter laws in Florida and planning for it began, “as we know it.” [state law] Terry Salas Merritt, a member of the Executive Committee on Women's Suffrage, argued.
On Wednesday, when the new ban went into effect, three patients who had their first consultation at Jacksonville's Woman's Choice found out they were past the state's new pregnancy limit and would have to go out of state to get an abortion.
One patient was around eight weeks, and two were over six weeks, Kelly Flynn, president and CEO of Women's Choice, told . The clinic helped one patient get an abortion appointment in North Carolina, and the other two connected with patient crews to get funding and other resources for their trip out of state.
“This is the majority of our patients. They don't know the exact time they got pregnant,” Flynn said. “If they weren't before [aware of the new ban]are now.
Florida's fight against abortion continues as it is one of at least three states with an abortion-related measure on the November ballot.
But now the focus is on individual patients.
“We will continue to be open,” Flynn said. “The biggest hurdle right now is getting patients who want an abortion in the door, starting their consent process, and then helping them move to their chosen option.”