Dr. Laura Andreson speaks at a rally outside the Justice A. A. Birch Building in Nashville, June 23, 2023
It’s been just over a year since Tennessee’s nearly total ban on abortion went into effect, and accessing the care has only become more complicated.
Earlier this month, Tennessee patients and providers joined a lawsuit led by the Center for Reproductive Rights in three states. The suit asks the state court to clarify what circumstances qualify for the medical exception to the ban — something local providers, including Dr. Laura Andreson, who is part of the suit, have been advocating for from the beginning. In this year’s legislative session, Tennessee’s law was changed only slightly to allow abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies, a dead fetus or molar pregnancies and to eliminate an affirmative-defense requirement for providers. It leaves out any exception for fatal fetal anomalies.
“Because of the state’s cruel laws, I was forced to carry a baby for months that was never going to live,” says Nicole Blackmon, one of the plaintiffs suing the state of Tennessee. “I was in terrible pain and could even have had a stroke and died, but I could not afford to travel out of state for an abortion. I was condemned to endure both physical and emotional torture, knowing that I was going to deliver a stillborn. How can Tennessee politicians stand by while this happens to people like me? I want some good to come out of my ordeal, so I am joining this case.”
The map of available places to receive an abortion is shrinking. Indiana recently instituted a ban on abortion, forcing Tennesseans going out of state for care to shift to Illinois, where they will join Ohioans and now Indiana residents. Locally based abortion fund Abortion Care Tennessee wasn’t sending many funds to Indiana, says founder Robyn Baldridge, which she says is because the state was able to handle the demand without outside help. On the other hand, Illinois has already been struggling to keep up with the demand and is asking for more funds, she says.
Because of wait lists at clinics and delays in securing travel and lodging, women are receiving abortions later in their pregnancies. This makes for more complicated and expensive procedures — sometimes up to $10,000 for a surgery, Baldridge says.
Back in the spring, things were more optimistic for Abortion Care Tennessee. Baldridge stood on the stage at the organization’s April variety show at The Blue Room at Third Man Records and let the audience know that the fund had enough money to fulfill almost any request.
But donations are currently down 76 percent from this time last year, she says.
“I was really trying to, at the spring event, say, ‘We’re here, you helped us get here, but we will not be able to stay here if this momentum doesn’t sustain or the costs increase,’” Baldridge tells the Scene. “That’s what’s happened.”
Abortion Care Tennessee is currently searching for an executive director, which will help them pivot to more traditional fundraising methods like expensive dinners and deep-pocket individual donors. Events like the variety shows will be less for survival and more for community, she says.
Baldridge also says she feels the energy around abortion care has diminished.
“I think there was a real window of time where businesses knew it was a really shitty PR move to not support an abortion organization … then everyone moved on,” she says. “None of us, especially at ACT, fault anyone for whatever decision they make. But the collective feeling is a feeling of discard. We’re getting more [abortion support] requests than ever. The costs are so much more than they were last year.”
Planned Parenthood's Nashville location
Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, on the other hand, has gained and sustained supporters, board chair Kristal Knight tells the Scene. The organization pivoted to a navigation program in which they employ social workers to help coordinate care and payment for patients in need of abortions. According to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi’s 2022 report, the organization gained 5,528 new donors, making for a total of 13,365 that year.
“Our individual donors, many of them have doubled down because they understand that there are still people out here who need care, and the only way that we can continue doing that is through the robust fundraising that we have,” Knight says.
In the wake of the state’s disqualification from the Title X program for refusing to share abortion options earlier this year, Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi is set to receive $3.9 million in Title X funding just for preventative reproductive care routed through the organization’s Virginia arm.
Tennessee’s ban affects neighboring blue states too, Knight points out.
“While we’re having a conversation about Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi,” she says, “this is something that also affects our neighboring states, because they see an influx of people who are coming from out of state.”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi is set to receive $8 million in Title X funding rather than the correct number, $3.9 million.
