A Mississippi family was going through the unimaginable after they learned their young teenage daughter had been raped and was pregnant.The parents and their daughter made the decision to end the pregnancy. But what happens to a rape victim in Mississippi when there are no abortion clinics?WAPT News is disguising the identity of the parents and leaving out identifying information about their daughter and the case, which is currently in the court system. We’re calling the parents Jane and John Doe for this story.”Being in the room where she was at, explaining how she got pregnant, was where my world really shattered,” Jane said. The couple said they immediately knew what to do.”There was no trying to wait and waste time. Our first instinct, you know, was her future,” John said.The Does said they had never been advocates of abortion, but the trauma their daughter experienced convinced them it was the right choice. The couple said they didn’t know about the abortion laws in Mississippi.”We didn’t until we started looking for a place, and we were told if we had been told about it three days sooner, we might could have gotten an abortion in Mississippi,” John said.Mississippi’s only abortion clinic closed on July 6 in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mississippi’s case to overturn Roe v. Wade. State law allows abortions in case of rape if you can find a doctor willing to do the procedure. But the Does didn’t know where to turn.”I called my (obstetrician), the one that had delivered my babies, and I explained my situation to him,” Jane said. “It was the ugliest feeling explaining to the doctor that delivered your child that she was raped, and then him telling you he can’t do anything to help you. He gave me the number to the Louisiana clinic.”But that clinic was also closed. Volunteers told Jane to try New Mexico, where Mississippi’s abortion clinic relocated.”I called the New Mexico place. It was just too far when I Googled it,” Jane said.The closest clinic Jane could find was in Illinois — Planned Parenthood Fairview Heights — a 7 1/2-hour drive. She called the clinic.”She had seen the severity of the nature and squeezed her in,” Jane said. “She told me the cost: $1,595.”Jane didn’t know where she would find the money.”We tried. It was two weeks. We tried. I booked a hotel. It was close to $500, so close to $2,000, not including gas, food, motel. The funds were the hardest to come up with,” Jane said. An acquaintance helped the Does find a hotline that might offer financial assistance.”We have seen an increase of a little over 300% in demand from folks coming from outside our bi-state area,” said Dr. Colleen McNicholas.McNicholas is the chief administrative officer for Planned Parenthood St. Louis Region, of which the Fairview Heights clinic is part. She said most of their out-of-state patients, like the Does, travel hundreds of miles. The average wait time for an abortion has increased from two to three days to two to three weeks.” “We are now seeing folks six days a week, 10 hours a day,” McNicholas said. “We help folks who are navigating significant logistics barriers in helping them figure out how they’re actually going to get to us.”The Does requested sedation for their daughter during the procedure. The most difficult moment was when she woke up.”I questioned myself, ‘Did I do the right thing? Did I commit a mistake? Was I wrong? Did I just ruin her life? Did I make it better?'” Jane said. The Does feel they made the best decision they could for their daughter, but the trauma of the rape she experienced is life-changing.”I’ve scheduled her with two different therapists to where they can try to talk to her and get her past it, but I don’t think she will ever get past it. She’ll learn to cope with it, but it’s still going to be something eating at her for the rest of her life,” John said. “Life will never be normal again.”
A Mississippi family was going through the unimaginable after they learned their young teenage daughter had been raped and was pregnant.
The parents and their daughter made the decision to end the pregnancy. But what happens to a rape victim in Mississippi when there are no abortion clinics?
WAPT News is disguising the identity of the parents and leaving out identifying information about their daughter and the case, which is currently in the court system. We’re calling the parents Jane and John Doe for this story.
“Being in the room where she was at, explaining how she got pregnant, was where my world really shattered,” Jane said.
The couple said they immediately knew what to do.
“There was no trying to wait and waste time. Our first instinct, you know, was her future,” John said.
The Does said they had never been advocates of abortion, but the trauma their daughter experienced convinced them it was the right choice. The couple said they didn’t know about the abortion laws in Mississippi.
“We didn’t until we started looking for a place, and we were told if we had been told about it three days sooner, we might could have gotten an abortion in Mississippi,” John said.
Mississippi’s only abortion clinic closed on July 6 in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mississippi’s case to overturn Roe v. Wade. State law allows abortions in case of rape if you can find a doctor willing to do the procedure. But the Does didn’t know where to turn.
“I called my (obstetrician), the one that had delivered my babies, and I explained my situation to him,” Jane said. “It was the ugliest feeling explaining to the doctor that delivered your child that she was raped, and then him telling you he can’t do anything to help you. He gave me the number to the Louisiana clinic.”
But that clinic was also closed. Volunteers told Jane to try New Mexico, where Mississippi’s abortion clinic relocated.
“I called the New Mexico place. It was just too far when I Googled it,” Jane said.
The closest clinic Jane could find was in Illinois — Planned Parenthood Fairview Heights — a 7 1/2-hour drive. She called the clinic.
“She had seen the severity of the nature and squeezed her in,” Jane said. “She told me the cost: $1,595.”
Jane didn’t know where she would find the money.
“We tried. It was two weeks. We tried. I booked a hotel. It was close to $500, so close to $2,000, not including gas, food, motel. The funds were the hardest to come up with,” Jane said.
An acquaintance helped the Does find a hotline that might offer financial assistance.
“We have seen an increase of a little over 300% in demand from folks coming from outside our bi-state area,” said Dr. Colleen McNicholas.
McNicholas is the chief administrative officer for Planned Parenthood St. Louis Region, of which the Fairview Heights clinic is part. She said most of their out-of-state patients, like the Does, travel hundreds of miles. The average wait time for an abortion has increased from two to three days to two to three weeks.”
“We are now seeing folks six days a week, 10 hours a day,” McNicholas said. “We help folks who are navigating significant logistics barriers in helping them figure out how they’re actually going to get to us.”
The Does requested sedation for their daughter during the procedure. The most difficult moment was when she woke up.
“I questioned myself, ‘Did I do the right thing? Did I commit a mistake? Was I wrong? Did I just ruin her life? Did I make it better?'” Jane said.
The Does feel they made the best decision they could for their daughter, but the trauma of the rape she experienced is life-changing.
“I’ve scheduled her with two different therapists to where they can try to talk to her and get her past it, but I don’t think she will ever get past it. She’ll learn to cope with it, but it’s still going to be something eating at her for the rest of her life,” John said. “Life will never be normal again.”
