The law is pushing some women into having abortions before they are ready to decide.
In Houston, when people had more time to process the news of their pregnancies, they’d usually arrive at the clinic secure in their choice. Maybe they’d already spent a couple of days envisioning how having a child—often, a third or fourth child—would change their life’s trajectory, or talked through their options with a partner, parent, or trusted friend.
“That has been, I think, the cruelest aspect of this law,” said Jeana Nam, 27, who works there as a counselor. “A ticking time bomb takes a feeling of control away from the pregnant person.”For many other patients, the decision remains clear. One 24-year-old woman who visited the clinic in April told me that she knew right away what she needed to do when she learned she was pregnant. “I have three kids right now. My youngest is 6 months, and my oldest is 4,” she said.
Kathy Kleinfeld, the clinic’s administrator and founder, typically exudes calm competence and good cheer, but grew angry when I broached this consequence of the law. “It’s pretty ironic, because Texas is a state that said, ‘Oh, wait, you need to take 24 hours. You need to have your ultrasound,go home and think about it, because we want you to be sure,’ ” she said. “All this pressure on, ‘We want you to be sure of your decision before you go through with this.
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