POLITICO
Can Mississippi’s Last Abortion Clinic Survive?
The Supreme Court’s decision on a law banning abortions after 15 weeks could have major consequences for the mostly poor Black women who come to the ‘Pink House.’
A woman who has terminated two pregnancies at the Jackson Women s Health Organization clinic sits across the street from the clinic more commonly called the Pink House. | Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo
By SARAH FOWLER
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Sarah Fowler is a freelance journalist based in Jackson, Miss.
JACKSON, Miss. Long before the funky restaurants and shops began to turn Fondren into Jackson’s trendiest district, the neighborhood’s landmark institution was a bright pink building, surrounded by a concrete and iron wall, 8 feet tall at its peak, that is Mississippi’s last abortion clinic.
The American South
Laurie Bertram Roberts has devoted years to helping people navigate the complexities of accessing abortion care in the Deep South.
It’s a part of the country frequently described by reproductive rights advocates as an abortion desert since clinics are few.
There are only nine in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana combined.
Add to this the intricate web of legal restrictions on abortion care that vary from state to state, making the process cumbersome for patients.
Then there’s the financial cost, which abortion funds, like the Yellowhammer Fund in Alabama, help patients cover.
Roberts is the executive director of the organization in Alabama, which helps patients pay for procedures and other associated costs, including travel expenses and childcare.
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The Biden administration’s announcement this month that it would allow mifepristone to be sent by mail revolutionized access to abortion in about half the country. Elsewhere, state laws requiring patients to meet with a provider in person preempt the new policy, underscoring just how much a person’s options depend on where they live.