IN SEPTEMBER 2020, Kelsey drove nearly 750 miles round-trip to have an abortion. She was living in a state where there was very little abortion care, and she was concerned about the COVID-19 protocols of the clinic closest to her, 160 miles away. So, she went for the next-best option: a clinic in Colorado. Despite staying with a friend to avoid hotel costs, she said she spent over $700 on travel and the procedure itself.
“It wasn’t the abortion itself that was awful,” she said. “The abortion was very necessary, and I’m very glad that I was able to have it. It was all of the hurdles that were traumatic.”
In late 2022, Kelsey, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, learned that she was pregnant again. By this time, she was living in New Mexico, where abortion remains legal, and there were two providers within 40 minutes of her home. Both clinics, however, like all eight
