Tennessee delays abortions after Supreme Court ruling

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- On Friday morning, a voicemail appeared on the patient's phone: She needed to call the clinic right away.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, creating a fragile and limited system of abortion care across the South, and hundreds of women learned that the abortions they were seeking were now illegal. The reprieve was temporary, but it wasn't yet the case in Tennessee.

Around noon, the patient connected with a staff member at Choices, an independent clinic in Memphis. The worker told her they were cancelling some upcoming appointments and would call her back soon to let her know about the status of hers. Her procedure was scheduled for Monday. There was a chance that it would be too late.

Tennessee is one of the few states with trigger laws where bans on abortion won't go into effect immediately; the delay is expected to last at least 30 days. There is a measure that is expected to kick in first. On Friday, Tennessee s attorney general asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow a state law banning abortion at six weeks of pregnancy to take effect, which would prevent 90% of procedures at Choices. It's possible that a decision could be made as soon as Monday.

The patient, 31, who asked for anonymity to protect her privacy, had five children at home, the youngest not yet 2. She was in her first trimester of pregnancy, but past six weeks.

Daycare's earnings came from her job at a big-box store, which has cost her family nearly $900 a month. She remembered telling her partner that infant care was expensive. She had applied for WIC benefits but was turned down.

She remembers giving birth to her youngest during the Pandemic, when hospitals were so crowded that she labored for a day before being admitted into a maternity ward.

She said that this is not something I want to do.

She waited at home in panic.

On Thursday, Jennifer Pepper, Choices CEO, met with the Illinois State Police about the new clinic Choices is opening in the state, where abortion is expected to remain legal. She was sitting in a coffee shop in Alton, Illinois Friday morning when she saw the Supreme Court decision.

Oh my God, she thought. The clinic's attorney called, and then called again. Did the clinic immediately halt abortions? The attorney advised to keep going and try to see as many people as possible.

Pepper drove south toward Memphis. The husband of a board member called her as she passed a series of billboards with anti-abortion messages. If babies could vote, abortion would be illegal. He told her that you are on the worst stretch of the highway right now.

The staff at Choices decided to prioritize seeing patients who had already come in for their initial consultation and waited 48 hours, a pause required under Tennessee law. Before the six-week ban took effect, the goal was to offer abortion to as many people as possible.

Pepper had little doubt who would bear the brunt of the fallout in a city where the fault lines of poverty and racial segregation have pushed many to the margins.

Pregnancy is dangerous in this country. She said that the danger just increased exponentially for whole communities of people, including Black and brown women, women living in poverty, women who use drugs, single women and transgender people. Our health care system is broken down, especially the system that cares for the most vulnerable among us.