A patient was sent to me by another doctor because she wanted an abortion as soon as possible; it was very important to her to resolve her pregnancy for personal reasons. We were able to get her a time for the operating room within two days. However, because of her military insurance, she was unable to afford her procedure with us due to restrictions from the Hyde Amendment.

She had to return to her primary doctor to have her abortion at a later date, and in the process endured significant emotional distress and the unnecessary cost of her visit with us. All she wanted was to have a ten-minute procedure to affirm her bodily autonomy, and I couldn’t help her with that. I was incredibly frustrated for her, and the impact on her emotions had to be far, far worse.