'75% Of My Patients Are From Texas': A Day In The Life Of An Oklahoma Abortion Provider
Dr. Joshua Yap has barely had a second to breathe since Texas passed the country’s most extreme abortion restriction.
Yap works at Planned Parenthood’s Tulsa clinic, which was already extremely busy before S.B. 8, a radical anti-abortion law, took effect in neighboring Texas on Sept. 1. Texas had effectively shut down clinics during the pandemic, so a large number of patients were already crossing the border to obtain services. But when S.B. 8 became law, Yap ― who is the only abortion provider at his clinic ― began working nonstop to accommodate the influx of Texans.
S.B. 8 banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and deputized private citizens to enforce it. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the law last week, and the majority of the justices hinted that they may allow legal challenges to it. But the legislation has had a significant impact on people seeking abortions in Texas: Many are leaving the state to receive care while other less privileged people are being forced into giving birth.
Before S.B. 8, Texas provided an average of 53,000 abortions every year. Now, the four clinics in Oklahoma are picking up the pieces by providing care for both Texans and Oklahomans. The two Planned Parenthood clinics in Oklahoma saw 35 patients from Texas between September and November 2020 — and 653 Texans during that same period in 2021.
“Trying to absorb all of these additional patients has been hard,” Yap said, noting that Oklahoma is a small state with only a few providers.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/day-in-the-life-oklahoma-abortion-provider-texas-sb8_n_618a9b26e4b0a518aca6693a
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