The Daily - Inside Four Abortion Clinics the Day Roe Ended

Episode Date: June 27, 2022

This episode contains strong language and mentions sexual assault.The Supreme Court decision on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade sent abortion clinics into a tailspin.That day Rosenda, a receptionist at a family planning clinic in Arizona, spent eight hours on the phone telling women the clinic could no longer help them.“I wanted to hug her, I wanted to help her but I know I can’t,” she said of one patient she called. “I wanted to scream.”In the hours after the decision, we spoke to clinic doctors and staff members trying to make sense of the news.Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The overturning of Roe set off waves of triumph and of despair, from the protesters on either side massing in front of the Supreme Court, to abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers.Over the weekend, anti-abortion forces vowed to push for near-total bans in every state in the nation, and abortion rights groups insisted they would harness rage over the decision to fight back in the courts. See our updates from Sunday.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

From The New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. This is The Daily. You know when you receive really bad news and you're just sitting there, numb, shocked, and can't really comprehend? That was honestly me. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sent abortion clinics into a tailspin. The news came through, and it was this absolute horrendous dread.

I think I'm in shock. I was more numb. Wow. In the hours after, my colleagues Lindsay Garrison, Diana Nguyen, and I started making calls to clinic doctors and staff members. And she said, oh my God, what can I do for you? And I said, I don't know. Right this moment, I don't think there's a thing anybody can do.

Who were trying to make sense of the news. Even for those that were expecting it, it's been a very tough decision to accept. It really has. I immediately started crying, and then our phones were ringing, and so I had to kind of try to pull myself together a bit.

Today, inside four abortion clinics, the day Roe ended. It's Monday, June 27th. I'm Dr. Jessica Rubino, family medicine physician, but then I specialize my practice in abortion care. And I work at Austin Women's Health Center. I've been there for almost four years. Tell me how your day began, the very beginning. So I got up today and it's one of the few mornings I haven't thought about

the decision because I don't know why, but I just didn't think it would come out today. Who knows why? You know, my brain just decided. So I just got up, let the dogs out, got ready for work. And it was literally right as I was about to walk out the door to go to the clinic that I got a text from my office manager. And it just said, Roe overturned. Roe overturned. Roe overturned. But I already knew what that meant. You do not have clearance to move forward with doing abortions today. Stop.

And I immediately thought of this one patient, a patient that I had in the clinic just a couple days ago. in the clinic just a couple days ago. And she was someone who was having a very hard time even just being in the clinic, essentially was having a panic attack throughout the entire visit, because she was so afraid that she was not going to be able to get her abortion in Texas. She was essentially shaking and already crying, sobbing. And she finally like, I'm just so afraid I'm going to be too far. I'm so afraid. She hadn't had an ultrasound yet, but she was just so frightened of being too far.

Meaning past the six week limit for Texas? Yeah. And I found out that she was, you know, under the limit. I was going to be able to see her for her abortion. She still was, you know, in the middle of a panic attack, but we worked through that and we had some hope. And so she left the clinic and, you know, was like, OK, but there's hope. Like I told her, I'm going to do your abortion. I mean, because I just I thought I had a little more time before anything would change. because I just, I thought I had a little more time before anything would change.

And, um, you know, we never even, I don't even know what her actual full story is. Like, I don't even know why it's so critical for her in her particular instance to get it here. I don't know if it's a monetary issue. I don't know if it's an abuse issue with a partner or, but I could tell like there's just, you know, something that she's going through right now that is, it just is everything to her. And now I'm going to have to tell her we had to stop. And that was where your head went immediately to that patient before you even left for work. Yeah, she was the first one. And then I alerted my neighborhood friend group that it happened. And somebody actually said, what are you going to do now? And I said, well, I'm going to get in my car.

I'm going to go to my clinic. And I'm going to help the patients I was supposed to do the abortions on today find somewhere else to get them. And we'll keep doing that. So I got in my car and went to work. And that's what got me there. I mean, that's why I went into work, for sure. And remember for me, kind of walking through the door, what were those first few minutes like? So when I walk in to the clinic, I can kind of gauge on any given day how busy we are at that time as I'm walking in because patients arrive a little bit before me and are being prepped by

the staff in the building. And so there's all this noise and the more commotion and noise there is, the busier I know we are. And I'm like, okay, it sounds really busy. Let's do this. Or, oh, it sounds kind of light today. I wonder, you know, what's up? Where is everybody? Today, when I walked in, it was just silent. That feeling of the air had been sucked out. All of the staff were very quiet. And it was just as in when there is a traumatic event or a loss of a loved one, everyone was sort of at a different place.

Everyone deals with grief differently. So some people are going online and laughing at memes about it. Some people are crying and really need to be alone. And some of us are sort of sarcastic, angry. Well, let's go see the patients. you know, sort of sarcastic, angry. Well, let's go see the patients. That's sort of where I landed.

We got to, you know, I got to talk to the patients. Oh, God, it was rough trying to collect myself and have to go out to the waiting room and to the staff, explain to them what has actually happened. I'm Kathleen Pittman. I'm the administrator at Hope Medical Group for Women. We are located in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have been at this same location since 1980. location since 1980. I was actually on my computer monitoring SCOTUSblog when the news came through and when Dobbs popped up on my computer screen, I just truly had this sinking feeling. I sat down my phone and then had to stop. And then I just walked out to the front office and said, Dobbs is in and it's not good.

And turned around, walked back to my office to recover because I was getting upset. And I didn't want the patients to see me that way. You know, I'm supposed to be the strong one. I'm supposed to be a leader. And I just needed a moment because I really, really wanted to be there for the patients. You know, we've had so many struggles before trying to keep the clinic going with, you know, all that we have faced here in Louisiana. And so, you know, this is the worst possible thing that could happen, not just for the clinic, but for these women. But at the same time, I don't know. I just felt like they needed somebody that wasn't all in pieces.

Yeah. A couple of the advocates I know also had to go find a ladies' room or a private office for a few minutes to regroup and recover. So some people from the staff were going to the bathroom to have to, you know, compose themselves as well. To the bathroom, to the back of the building where there were no patients to have a good cry. It was this absolute horrendous dread. And you could, you know, it just, everybody's expressions, it was, it was, it's hard to take. It's hard to think about even now without getting upset all over again. Kathleen, did you talk to patients today?

I did some, yes, when I made my initial announcement. And then as some were waiting for different things, and I went to the back of the building where some of the ladies were waiting for their ultrasounds and chatted with them a little bit. Again, would find myself tearing up again and having to step out. What were those conversations like? It was hard. Some women were just sitting there looking so horribly dejected. I'm sorry.

Anyway, you know, some were angry, some were upset. And what was in your mind at the time? This isn't right. That no one should do this to these women. It's wrong. How can anyone call themselves human and put these ladies

through what they're going through now? It's been difficult. And then, you know, as patients get upset, the staff would get upset all over again. I did not intend to get upset while talking to you. It's been a day, Huffman. Oh, God, yeah. And at the same time,

we had other staff that were calling our patients that were scheduled to come in later today for their actual abortion to tell them,

we can't see you today. And we're not sure if and when we can. I honestly took my time getting to work because I was dreading took my time getting to work because I was dreading getting to work and making the calls to those patients. I took the long way to work. My name is Rosenda. I work for Desert Star Family Planning in Phoenix. I am a receptionist there. I've been working there since November of 2021. I got to work and I basically just got right to it because we had um I believe two

new pregnancy confirmation visits in the morning and I had to call them and one of them i called and i told her that since um roe versus wade was overturned um abortion is illegal in arizona and she stayed quiet and then she said what the fuck this can't be happening today she had no idea that this was even happening. Wow. And she's like, what do you mean? And I told her abortion is illegal in Arizona, so we wouldn't be able to see her. And she was honestly mad. She's like, this isn't fair.

And I told her, I know. I told her, I'm sorry. And if she needs help finding another clinic, I can give her numbers and websites to other clinics outside of the state. And she said, thank you. And I told her, best of luck with everything that was. I wanted to scream. And honestly, it's just, it feels like a hole in your chest.

It hit me so hard because I've always had these calls before since I started in November. I've always had these calls before since I started in November, but I was always able to schedule them to come in so we can help them. And now I can't. What was the call you'll remember the most? Um, this patient called me for her granddaughter. She's a minor. I'm going to cry. Okay.

It's okay. She asked if I can schedule her an appointment. And I told her, unfortunately, we're not doing abortion care in the clinic until further notice. And she told me, what are we supposed to do? She's only 14. This was not her fault. So I'm just sitting there listening to

the grandma cry. And I told her, I'm so sorry. And what did the grandmother say? She said, thank you. I am not going to let my granddaughter be another number in teen pregnancy, in child sexual assault. And she said I would be there for her, even if I had to take her out of state.

She was assaulted? Yes. Oh. How many calls did you make, Rosenda? Oh, gosh. I would say over 60 calls. Over 60? Mm-hmm.

I spent eight hours telling all these patients that we can't help them. It was honestly the worst thing I have ever done. My heart is still, I'm still shaken today, basically having to listen to those calls in my head again. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I can't do anything about it. I'm just, it's basically like you have this fire, you see it getting bigger. You know there's a bucket of water next to you.

But you can't touch it. You're not allowed to grab that bucket of water and put out the fire. That fire is getting bigger and bigger. We'll be right back. Where did you tell people to go? Colorado. Colorado and New Mexico. New Mexico.

New Mexico. Nevada. Illinois. I honestly felt like a terrible person. Lucy felt like a terrible person. All I could do for them was give them the website and the numbers to call. I couldn't do anything else. Usually I get the, like, thank you for what you do.

Thank you, you know, for being here. And I still got that today. Even when I was like, in my head, I'm like, I'm not doing anything. And I had the thought for the first time, I was like, a strange sort of travel agent. Like, a really well medically trained travel agent. But it's not just a matter of cost of travel. These are women that already have families. They have children that need caring for.

They have jobs. They have schools. I mean, transportation issues. We're not talking about just fuel money. We're talking about a car that actually runs. So there are so many obstacles at this point. You know, I just don't know. For so many of them, they're just not going to be able to obtain the care. What happened to the patient who was the one who came to your mind this morning?

The one who was having the panic attacks in the clinic? So one of our counselors gave her another call and went over the plan with her to work with this company that's going to fly her from Austin to Colorado. It's like a group of like 15 people they're taking. And we were down to just a couple of spots. I wanted her to get one. But she's someone who next week, I think probably one of us will call and check in on her. I'm still worried about her mental health until she gets the abortion that she needs. I don't think I'm going to feel full relief until I know that she's safe on the other side. The phones were ringing off the hook. I can't tell you how busy the phones were. This is like at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, which on a Friday afternoon, phones usually start slowing down.

They were ringing off the hooks, and all I kept hearing were voices from the staff people. I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry. I have to give you this news and giving people the information of abortionfinder.org, which is where we're referring all people to find a provider, you know, out of state and the closest provider that they might be able to find.

And you're hearing this from the other side of the wall. Yeah, over and over and over again. Frantic calls. So I am Corinne Rovedi. I work as a family nurse practitioner and the co-director at the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health in Knoxville, Tennessee, where as of Friday, four o'clock, we are no longer an abortion provider, and we have canceled all of our appointments. I walked into the clinic, and I thought the moment I stepped inside that I would sort of break down. I didn't, surprisingly. And then I walked through our locked door onto the counseling side because

they were finishing up with the last medical abortion procedures there. And I stood and stared at my coworkers. And they stared back at me. And we had no words. There weren't any need for words. We just looked at each other. And knew if we touched each other, that we would all completely break down. There just weren't any words. We finished out seeing the patients.

And then my co-director, Carolina, hopped into my office and she said, the staff really needs us and wants us to all come together, which we had been planning to do anyway. And I said, okay, I'm going to wrap up what I'm doing. And all the patients were gone out of the building at that point. And then it was soon after that we went upstairs to meet with the staff. Most of us were sort of slumped in our chairs. There were mostly red-rimmed eyes everywhere. And that's when stories started coming out. And so our doctor relays the story of a couple that shows up pounding on the door, wanting to be seen, begging to be seen.

They have an appointment on Monday. Well, let me also backtrack because our staff had already begun to call all the appointments for Monday to cancel. Right. This couple got in their car, drove to the clinic, banging on the door, begging the doctor to see them. Please, please. The doctor said, I could if I would. I'm not going to jail, though.

And I can't help anybody. And it would be a felony if I did see you. What was the doctor like when he was telling you the story? He was in tears. He was just in tears. And then people were calling out, you know, the names of the last procedures that we'll ever perform. And the tears of gratitude on these women's faces, they understood that they just

made it in under the wire. And they were so grateful and so thankful. And, you know, one staff member said, I will forever remember, I'm going to use a different name just for protection sake, you know, Suzanne, I will never forget holding Suzanne's hand and her looking me in the eyes during her procedure and saying, thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't know what I would do without you guys. And the staff person is saying to the patient, I'm so glad that I can be here for you and with you during this last procedure. What was it like to all be sitting there, talking together like this, about this?

We're aggrieved. You know, this is a group of people who have worked together, many of us, for many, many years. We're a family. It truly does feel like there's been a death and we're grieving. You know, it's like the stages of grief where you have the shock, the denial, the sadness, the anger. We are in a position where we feel helpless, helpless to help these women that are calling in and literally begging for help. It's really just like if you know someone has a chronic illness and you know it's going to take their life and it's going to end, you just don't happen to know which day

and then it happens and you still somehow feel just as shocked even though you knew that was coming. Yeah, it's a death. It's a death. I mean, we were grieving a death. Yeah. And a death on many levels, right? I mean, you know, the death of the clinic, the death of an era, the death of bodily autonomy, the death of this incredible group of people dedicated and working together so well. It's big. Did it feel strange walking out today? I mean, did it feel weird?

Yeah. I had one of those, like, something has changed, and I don't know if it will ever feel the same again. Like, kind of that feeling of, will I ever walk back into this building and do another abortion? And if I don't, just walking out and walking away doesn't seem ceremonious enough. To be such a momentous day, to be such a change from the norm, it feels as if there should have been some more acknowledgement. I don't even know what it would be. But something to mark, like, so many lives have been positively affected in that building, that even that, even that and thinking about all of that positivity feels overwhelming. Corinne, does anybody know, or does the doctor know,

what ended up happening to the people, the couple who came to the clinic banging on the door? Does anyone know what happened to them? No. You know, we provided them the resources that we're providing everybody else and said, you know, I'm so sorry. So they eventually left the clinic. They eventually

left the clinic, yeah. The Times reports that, as of Sunday night, at least nine states have banned abortion outright. Wisconsin, South Dakota, Utah, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, and Louisiana. Twelve more states are expected to either ban or restrict it in the coming weeks. Over the weekend, as Americans absorbed the ruling, large-scale protests erupted in cities across the country, from Dallas to Boise. Violence erupted at some of them.

In Phoenix late Friday night, the police used tear gas to disperse abortion rights supporters after they pounded on the doors of the Arizona Senate building. And in Greenville, South Carolina, six people were arrested after protesters and counter-protesters crossed paths. We'll be right back. Here's what else you need to know today. I know there's much more work to do, and I'm never going to give up, but this is a monumental day. On Saturday, President Biden signed a bipartisan gun bill into law, ending nearly three decades of gridlock in Washington over how to address gun violence. The law contains a series of new policies, including an expansion of the background check system for buyers under 21, funding for mental health programs,

and grants to help states implement red flag laws, which allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed dangerous. Well, this bill doesn't do everything I want. It does include actions I've long called for that are going to save lives. The president said that the legislation fell far short of the sweeping measures he had pushed for after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The bipartisan group of senators who came up with the proposal ultimately scrapped the idea of banning assault weapons

and of prohibiting their sale to people under 21. Because those measures would not have passed in the Senate. And Russia hit Ukraine with long-range missiles on Sunday, striking an apartment building in Kiev, just as Western leaders

were gathering for a meeting of the G7, the world's biggest economies. The strike, which killed one person and injured a seven-year-old girl and her mother, sent a message of defiance to Ukraine's Western allies and underscored the power that Russia has to hit targets deep inside Ukraine. A Ukrainian official said the missiles had been fired by Russian aircraft flying over the Caspian Sea, more than 900 miles from Kiev. Today's episode was produced by Lindsay Garrison, Diana Nguyen, and Rob Zipko. It was edited by Mark George and Michael Benoit. Cont contains original music by Marian Lozano,

Alicia Baitube, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. That's it for The Daily. I'm Sabrina Tavernisi. See you tomorrow.