The pandemic challenges all of my patients, Dr. Kristyn Brandi says. People who might have been excited to be pregnant are now concerned about impacts on their health and that of their potential child. I have had patients lose their jobs and the ability to pay for medical care or a new mouth to feed. I have had patients lose their spouse or parent to COVID-19, making the decision to have a new child seem impossible.
I heard it twice in one day: “I don’t know what to do.”
As a doctor practicing in Newark, I see patients with a broad diversity of lived experiences. Itis unusual to hear the same story back to back. But we are in unusual times. Two people: one, a patient in my obstetrics clinic, the other a close friend. Both were concerned about being pregnant in the time of COVID-19.
The pandemic has been eye-opening to many of us in the health care system. As an OB/GYN providing both prenatal and abortion care, I support my patients through the best and worst times, through exciting and hard decisions. But the pandemic challenges all of my patients.
People who might have been excited to be pregnant are now concerned about impacts on their health and that of their potential child. I have had patients lose their jobs and the ability to pay for medical care or a new mouth to feed. I have had patients lose their spouse or parent to COVID-19, making the decision to have a new child seem impossible.
There is much attention at this time on ensuring access to safe birth care, but much less on ensuring safe abortion care. This political response highlights the critical nature of abortion care and the barriers to accessing it.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has rightly identified abortion as “essential health care.” It is time-sensitive care that, if delayed, can significantly impact the patient’s life. Because of that leadership, I have been fortunate to continue providing abortion care throughout the pandemic. The fact that this is not the case elsewhere has caused mass confusion and distress. Health care should not be determined by your zip code, and states should not treat the same care differently based on politics rather than science.
Moreover, COVID-19 has made typical barriers to abortion care even worse. If you have lost your job – a common reason people cite as to the reason they are accessing abortion in the first place – can you pay for the procedure? If you need to travel by bus to access abortion care, can you do so without the risk of infection? With schools out, who will watch the kids while you are at your appointment? Many of these barriers hit Black, brown, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander communities, immigrants, and low-income patients the hardest even during normal times.
So, what do we do now to ensure abortion access during another pandemic or, ideally, a pandemic-free future? Here is a humble suggestion from a health care provider: make abortion care affordable for all.
The first way to do this is to end the Hyde Amendment, an addition to the federal budget that prohibits federal tax dollars from covering abortion care. With the Hyde Amendment in place, patients with federal insurance (like military members and dependents, veterans, federal employees) have holes in their coverage based solely on where they work. Just as I want patients to be able to afford their prenatal care and pap smears, I want my patients to also be able to afford their abortion care regardless of their source of insurance.
The second and most immediate step is for each of us to support our local abortion funds. As a trustee of the New Jersey Abortion Access Fund, I see the impacts of these barriers firsthand. Many patients without coverage for their abortion never make it into my exam room because they cannot overcome the barriers of cost – not just the cost of the procedure but those of transportation, time off from work, or childcare.
The New Jersey Abortion Access Fund is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) organization providing financial assistance to those seeking safe, legal abortions. We partner with independent abortion providers in New Jersey to help individuals access quality, compassionate care. We help cover some of the costs of the procedure so people have one less barrier to getting the care they need and deserve.
I cannot wait until we’ve put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us. But even during this challenging time, health care doors are still open. I am proud to take care of my patients and show up to work every day. But we need much more to make sure people like my patients can access the care they need, today and tomorrow.
Dr. Kristyn Brandi is an assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health.
Abortion - Abortion Clinics, Abortion Pill, Abortion Information 
Leave a Reply