Health

10 HE ALTH • Summer 2022 By Laura Finaldi T he right to an abortion is codified into Massachusetts law, even if Roe v. Wade gets overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court later this summer. But as the fate of the 1973 abortion rights ruling hangs in limbo, local abortion advocates said they worry about the ability of patients both in and out of the commonwealth to access care. After a draft from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to Politico and published May 2, a f lood of donations and tons of new volunteer interest came into the Jane Fund, a nonprofit abortion fund in Central Massachusetts, Vikky Angelico, the organization's board president, told Central Massachusetts HEALTH. While it's great that the Jane Fund received so much financial support following the leak, Angelico said, the draft opinion was not a surprise. A lot of parts of the U.S. and communities even within Massachusetts are already living in a world where access to abortion is either limited or nonexistent, she said, and organizations, particularly those run by Black and queer women, have been sounding the alarm on that for years. "They have been screaming and warning people for a very long time," Angelico said. "In the past five years or so, mainstream pro-choice people have started listening and moving toward being pro-abortion. I think this leak was a real shock to a lot of people, but it should not have been a shock at all." Legal in Massachusetts Abortion will be legal in Massachusetts, no matter what happens at the federal level. The ROE Act, which was passed in 2020 after the state legislature overrode Gov. Charlie Baker's veto, lowered the age at which people can seek abortions without a parent's permission from 18 to 16. The act allows for pregnancy termination beyond 24 weeks if medically necessary. Still, even with legal abortion, there are still plenty of barriers to care, Angelico said. An average first trimester abortion, for example, can cost $700 out of pocket for the procedure alone, she said. It's about $200 for the abortion pill, which is the most cost-effective option, but if a two-day surgical procedure is necessary, that can cost between $1,500 and $2,000, she said. And that's excluding travel expenses, child care, or any other fees that might arise. Abortion is covered by MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, but the Hyde Amendment prevents federal Medicaid funding for abortion services, according to reproductive health nonprofit Planned Parenthood. Private insurers cover the procedure, and about 80-85% of Planned Parenthood abortion patients in Massachusetts have health coverage, Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said. But there still are plenty of people – particularly people of color, who already face barriers to health care – who can't access the abortion services they need, Childs-Roshak said. The Jane Fund pledged $56,541 to clinics to pay for abortions last year, an increase over $44,601 the year before, according to the organization's 2022 annual report. The Jane Fund succeeded in fully meeting the financial gap with each caller from Central Massachusetts, according to the report. However, there's still work to be done, Dr. Tara Kumaraswami, a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said. "Abortion is health care. It shouldn't be restricted, based on zip code or insurance coverage, to be able to access the service," Kumaraswami said. Out of state influx If Roe does get overturned, Childs-Roshak said she expects to see more patients who live outside of the commonwealth cross state lines to access abortion. Several states, including Arkansas, South Dakota, and Idaho have so-called trigger laws to ban or even criminalize abortion in the event Roe gets overturned. It's pretty common for people who have connections to Massachusetts – whether it's through family or because they went to college here – to come if they do find themselves in need If Roe falls Abortion providers in Central Mass. are planning for the anticipated reversal of federal protections by raising more money, preparing telehealth, and unionizing Vikky Angelico, board president of the Jane Fund

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