Sitting in my car, I went through the mental checklist before my appointment: fill up my gas tank to get to Kansas City, Kansas, from my apartment in Lawrence, ask my co-worker Tim to cover my shift at the bar that afternoon, and reschedule my morning meetings at my second job. I also needed to find my driver’s license, confirm there was still enough money in my checking account to cover the required three appointments, and pack Goldfish crackers that my sister told me would help with the constant nausea.
I was 24, fresh out of college, and the process of getting an abortion felt overwhelming. When I learned that I was pregnant, I knew immediately that I did not want to be. However, the 72-hour waiting period required by law in Kansas and the high volume of patients served by the three remaining abortion clinics in the state forced me to stay pregnant two weeks longer than I wanted to be. Like Texas and other states in the South and Midwest, Kansas makes abortion nearly impossible to get.
My personal abortion experience has strengthened my resolve to ensure that other people can get the care they want.
