--- title: What the Texas Abortion Law May Mean for Access in the South description: Robin Marty and Leah Torres work at West Alabama Women’s Center and say they fear the Texas abortion law, S.B. 8, may be just the beginning. canonical: https://time.com/6101739/abortion-access-alabama/ author: Robin Marty article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-09-28T11:00:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:22.139Z article:section: Ideas og:title: What We Fear in the Wake of the Texas Abortion Law og:description: We work at a clinic in Alabama and we've been alarmed by how little things have changed here after S.B. 8 og:url: https://time.com/6101739/abortion-access-alabama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a80b09b08c1b779/698a1d3e16d88449ffc39c4c/texas-abortion-protest.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: texas-abortion-protest og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What We Fear in the Wake of the Texas Abortion Law twitter:description: We work at a clinic in Alabama and we've been alarmed by how little things have changed here after S.B. 8 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a80b09b08c1b779/698a1d3e16d88449ffc39c4c/texas-abortion-protest.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What We Fear in the Wake of the Texas Abortion Law > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=517c4e3c-fb94-4444-ae21-953d411a425a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: True Stories, Hard Choices: Part 1 [Watch (HLS stream): True Stories, Hard Choices: Part 1](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fF6xepgj.m3u8) (12:23)  _Published 2016-09-28. Filmmaker Dawn Porter looks at the racial politics of abortion in America today._ by [Robin Marty](https://time.com/author/robin-marty/) and [Leah Torres](https://time.com/author/leah-torres/) Sep 28, 2021 11:00 AM UTC  Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., days after the justices declined to block a near-total ban on abortion in Texas, Sept. 4, 2021. Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., days after the justices declined to block a near-total ban on abortion in Texas, Sept. 4, 2021. Kenny Holston—The New York Times/Redux by [Robin Marty](https://time.com/author/robin-marty/) and [Leah Torres](https://time.com/author/leah-torres/) Sep 28, 2021 11:00 AM UTC On Sept. 1, [Texas enacted an extreme law ](https://time.com/6095100/texas-abortion-law-politics/)that effectively ended abortion care in the state. Since then, clinics in states on the western and northern borders have seen a dramatic increase in patient visits and calls from abortion funds. But here in the Gulf region, not much has changed. And that might be the most alarming news of all. There is no region more crippled by abortion restrictions than the Deep South. Across the more than 800 miles along the Gulf Coast between the eastern edge of Texas and the end of the Florida panhandle, there are fewer than a dozen abortion clinics, and Louisiana, [Mississippi](https://time.com/6048930/supreme-court-mississippi-abortion-roe-v-wade/) and Alabama require a waiting period of 24 or 48 hours between in-person visits to the clinic. That means a traveling patient must either make multiple trips or find the resources for some combination of housing, food, child care and time off work, in addition to paying for the abortion. Most abortion patients come from low-income households, and state laws down here prohibit non-employer-based insurance from covering abortion. **_Read More:_**[_In Texas, Rape Crisis Centers Struggle to Respond to New Abortion Law_](https://time.com/6095405/texas-abortion-law-rape-crisis-centers/) So it is that with [Texas prohibiting abortion as early as 14 days after a missed period](https://time.com/6093905/texas-abortion-ban-abortion-rights/), clinics in states like New Mexico and Oklahoma are seeing a flood of new appointments, but those in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are not. While our phones at West Alabama Women’s Center ring more than before, it is nowhere near what we would expect with one of the nation’s largest states eliminating nearly all abortion care. It’s not terribly surprising, though. With enough hoops to get through, of course people will be deterred from seeking an abortion in the Deep South. That was the intention. Those who have the resources are able to travel, some as far as Illinois. But those who don’t? What are they doing now? It’s a thought that consumes us daily. In Alabama, we’ve long seen patients from Mississippi, where there is just one clinic, and since Hurricane Ida, we’ve seen Louisiana patients unable to get into their own booked clinics. So it’s unlikely that these states are taking in many patients from East Texas. **R** **_ead More:_**[ _I Can’t Do My Job as a Pastor With Abortion Laws Like Texas’ S.B. 8 in Place_](https://time.com/6099322/abortion-texas-faith/) Our fear is that pregnant people wanting an abortion have simply stopped trying to access the procedure-—at least for now. Because the ban has continued to have court challenges, including [one from the Justice Department](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-texas-over-senate-bill-8), those who are early in their pregnancies may just be waiting, hoping that a new hearing might mean a chance to stay in the state and get a termination. After all, if there will be a judicial review in two weeks and it takes two weeks to book an appointment in Louisiana, does it really make a difference? Unfortunately, it does. Whether this barrier to health care is temporary or permanent, one thing we know for certain is that people who decide to end their pregnancies will now be doing so later in gestation—either because of waiting for legal abortion to return in Texas or needing to book out-of-state visits weeks in advance. These delays will increase [health risks](https://time.com/6099821/texas-abortion-maternal-mortality/) as well as financial burdens and lead more people to take legal risks to terminate. What they will not do, for the large part, is make Texans and others affected in the region decide they should just give birth. **_Read More:_**[_How Texas’ Abortion Ban Will Lead to More At-Home Abortions_](https://time.com/6099921/texas-self-managed-abortions/) At our clinic, we will continue to do anything we can to meet this need as it arises. We now offer state-mandated informed-consent materials via certified mail, thus starting the clock on the 48-hour waiting period and eliminating one visit, which can be critical for patients traveling hundreds of miles. We will also increase our hours if needed so more patients can access the abortion care they need as quickly as possible, as is their constitutional right. The problem is this may be just the beginning. With a number of other states considering similar bans—[notably Florida](https://time.com/6100983/florida-abortion-bill-texas-sb8/)—this crisis may get far worse. Florida is currently a destination for those in the region who are unable to navigate their states’ multi-visit requirements. It is also the only state in the region with a number of clinics that is more aligned with the number of people living there. A near total abortion ban would not just cripple that state but every state around it. If Florida’s clinics were unavailable, the domino effect would essentially overflow the Southeast. Abortion has always existed. Legal or not, it will continue to exist. Texas is playing [a dangerous constitutional game](https://time.com/6074553/abortion-supreme-court-limbo/)—and using pregnant people as collateral. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] My mother grew up in New York City, in [00:03] Harlem in the 1950's. Her [00:07] father was a physician and a surgeon at Harlem [00:10] Hospital. I only knew a little bit about this part of my [00:13] mother's life, so I asked her to tell me more about it. [00:15] [ MUSIC ] Well as you know my family was [00:20] the first family to move into our building. [ MUSIC ] [00:25] I was I think about two years, [ UNKNOWN ] And that [00:29] was my world. [ MUSIC ] [00:50] My grandfather had a cousin who was a doctor living in [00:53] North Carolina. Cousin Albert [00:57] had more work than he could handle and he asked my [00:59] grandfather comes South to help out. So [01:04] my grandfather moved his family to Sleepy Wadesboro, [01:07] North Carolina. Where he worked as local country [01:10] doctor. My time [01:14] in Wadesboro was very different than my time in New [01:17] York. Most of his clients were very [01:21] poor. People paid him in corn. And put your hugs [01:26] and so we have lots of food. My [01:31] bedroom faced over a highway up on a hill and one [01:37] night all of the sudden I see like The on highway, [01:41] all these cars like a row, and [01:45] there is a trail of white sheets. I [01:49] didn't know what the Coolock clan was, but i knew that [01:53] everybody in the house was afraid. And [02:00] one night The sheriff came, Albert poured drinks, [02:04] they sat around chatting for a while and then they took [02:07] him away. He was arrested. He was [02:11] arrested because a white woman reported that he had [02:15] performed an abortion for her. I [02:22] never knew about this part of my family history. I knew [02:25] that the issue of abortion in America has always been [02:28] racially charged, but until I started making Trapped, [02:32] my feature documentary about abortion, I never really [02:35] considered how the experience of having an abortion [02:38] might be different for black women. My friends it is a [02:40] baby. It is a child. According [02:44] to the Center for Disease Control, black women have [02:47] abortions at five times the rate of white women. [02:50] Certainly the reasons are complicated. But experts [02:53] point to barriers like a lack of access to education, [02:57] reproductive health care, and income disparity. [02:59] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] You pretend to be a When are you [03:03] going to come back to Christ? Dr. [03:10] Parker, much like my grandfather did, travels across [03:14] the south providing women access to medical care, [03:17] including abortion. He's become a well- known [03:19] advocate for access to abortion care. If you're trying to [03:21] wipe out the black race. Since you noticed, they're [03:26] trained to wipe them out. I was prepared for [03:29] protesters, but it was still shocking to hear the [03:31] protesters call Dr. Parker a filthy negro abortionist. [03:36] They were even disgusted with me, for my position, [03:39] while making this film. Are you pro- choice? I am [03:39] pro- choice, yes. It's easy to be pro- choice [03:44] because you're not the one being killed. That's all I [03:47] have to say. That's right, amen, yeah, what do you got [03:49] to say about that? That's all I have to say. Hey, were [03:51] you pro- choice about slavery, too? Cuz that was a [03:53] privacy issue back in the 1800s. Were you pro- choice [03:56] about that? You think slavery and abortion [03:59] [ INAUDIBLE ] Pro choice about slavery, Dred Scott all [04:02] that. i don; t understand your point. Good job. Is it pro [04:05] choice about slavery? [ LAUGH ] I don't know why you [04:08] keep bringing race into the conversation. You know [04:11] because we like black babies, black babies matter to [04:13] us but apparently not to you. And you don't care one [04:16] bit because you're pro choice. You stand beside those [04:18] Folks, good job! Good job! You're [04:22] a disgrace to your race! It [04:27] was absolutely surreal to hear older white men lecture [04:30] me about the impact of abortion on the lives of black [04:32] women. Meanwhile I was interviewing [04:37] real women inside the clinics hearing their painful [04:40] stories and how hard their choices were. It made me [04:43] realize just how infrequently black women's stories are [04:47] really ever told. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [04:51] [ MUSIC ] [04:54] All [04:58] right, [05:01] put [05:04] today's [05:07] date [05:11] in this blank. You're gonna sign and date here. [05:14] Nobody's forcing you to have this done. You do have [05:16] 48 hours to change your mind. We did an ultrasound [05:19] to find out how far along you are. You are less than 19 [05:22] weeks pregnant. Do you know what your blood type is? [05:24] No. Okay. Questions? No. All right, is [05:31] there a reason why you didn't give me an emergency [05:33] contact? Really don't have family here. Okay. [05:38] Anybody? Friend? Church member? Boyfriend? Nobody [05:43] Okay! On the other procedure, you gotta have to give [05:46] me someone and it doesn't have to be someone in this [05:48] vicinity. But if something happens to you here in the [05:50] clinic, I need to be able to notify someone, okay? So [05:54] whether it be your mom and she lives in another state, [05:55] that's fine. But I still need an emergency contact okay? [05:59] Now what are you going to do as far as the drive on [06:02] the day of the procedure? A cab maybe. Okay. You're [06:08] gonna have to have someone with you I can't put you in [06:10] a cab sedated with someone you don't know and I [06:12] don't know. What we can do is talk to the volunteers [06:15] maybe. Sometimes they will Assist if you don't have a [06:19] driver, because I'm not comfortable sending you with [06:21] someone I don't know. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [06:27] I [06:32] am 20. What do you do? As a far as work? Yeah. I'm a [06:36] cashier at Walmart. I make $ 9 in hour. Being [06:40] a single parent is not easy. I'm starting to become a [06:44] paramedic. I just feel like with another child [06:48] then what I'm trying to do right now. I don't feel like I [06:50] can do it. So I'm just trying to pursue my dreams so I [06:52] can just had better for my son. How old is your [06:56] kid? My son is 19 months. he's [07:01] a great kid and I just want to take care of him. I [07:05] don't really think I can do a second child, not by [07:05] myself. How do you feel about your decision? Like [07:11] a bad person. Say more about that. Why do you feel [07:19] bad? Are you a religious person? I try to be. What does [07:22] your religious understanding say to you about [07:24] abortion? I know that God don't want this for me, but I [07:28] did pray on it. I just want him to understand it. I feel [07:32] like I should go through with it. Mm- hm. I just want [07:35] him to understand. I don't want him to be upset with [07:38] me, because if I do it, [07:42] [ SOUND ] Continuous in that what I would want for you [07:44] is that you'd be able say, you know what that was a [07:47] jacked up situation, but if I had to do it all over again, [07:49] I'd make the same decision because I made the best [07:51] decision I could make. And that way you don't have to [07:55] second guess yourself and nobody who's walking in [07:57] your shoes can question you because they're not in [08:00] your shoes. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I'm [08:07] not a good person at all. I just feel like a bad person, [08:11] a bad female. Okay, the only rule I'm gonna give you is [08:11] you may not say I'm not a good person any more, cuz [08:11] that is not the case. An unintended pregnancy is an [08:12] unintended An unintended pregnancy is an unintended [08:12] pregnancy. That's all it is. That's all it is. So, no more. [08:18] Okay. Okay? I'm [08:27] not [08:32] kidding. [08:37] As crazy as it sounds I said I would rather an abortion [08:40] than to give the baby up to a family I don't know. [08:44] Because if I wanna hold it in, that's love. And I don't [08:45] wanna, [ SOUND ]. Sorry. [ SOUND ] And I can give that [08:49] love away. [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [08:59] [ MUSIC ] Deciding [09:11] to have an abortion is never easy, but in many places [09:14] it's also incredibly logistically difficult. Especially for [09:18] black women. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] In June of 2016 [09:23] the United States Supreme Court determined that [09:25] so- called Trap Laws, which have resulted in the [09:28] closure of so many abortion clinics are illegal, but there [09:31] is still only one abortion clinic in the entire state of [09:35] Mississippi. Luckily there's also one woman there who [09:39] always listens. [ MUSIC ]. [09:42] I [09:44] live [09:47] in Jackson Mississippi and I work at Jackson Women's [09:50] Health, the abortion clinic. Getting ready [09:55] to walk through those doors is the hardest part. And [09:59] she's probably torn so many different directions. By [10:03] the time she gets to me, she's barely sure of what she [10:07] needs to do for herself. A lot of the private [10:11] counseling that I do I hear interesting stories and most [10:13] of them is about being torn one way or another. My [10:18] name is Betty. Everyone around here calls me Ms. [10:20] Betty, and what I do is I am [10:25] available to you to talk to you about whatever's going [10:27] on with you. What we usually do is do a group [10:31] counseling where I tell you what to expect on surgery [10:34] day. For me, being a mother is everything. [10:39] Not only am I a mother to my two boys, I am [10:43] a mother to the rest of the women in this clinic. [10:45] [ MUSIC ] [10:58] I think the protesters think that these women just get [11:00] up in the morning and decide to go have an abortion. [11:03] When they have put their heart and souls into their [11:05] decisions and have to walk through that gauntlet out [11:09] there to even come in and discuss with us the process. [11:12] [ MUSIC ] I hate to [11:17] think about what would happen [11:22] to the women of Mississippi if this clinic closes. [11:23] [ MUSIC ] It's [11:30] tough for women right [11:33] now. [11:36] [ MUSIC ] [11:38] [ MUSIC ]. [11:41] Ms. Betty is like a mother to her patients. But over and [11:45] over in the three years of making the film trapped, I [11:48] heard so many women tell me about their shame In [11:51] how they felt they were letting their own family down, [11:54] particularly their mothers. And even though I was [11:57] making a documentary about abortion and interviewing [11:59] so many women. I'd realized I've never asked my own [12:03] mother if abortion had impacted her life. 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