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This Texas teen wanted an abortion. She now has twins.
NATIONAL
This Texas teen wanted an abortion. She now has twins.
Brooke Alexander found out she was pregnant 48 hours before the Texas abortion ban took effect
By Caroline Kitchener
June 20, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — Brooke Alexander turned off her breast pump at 6:04 p.m. and brought two fresh bottles of milk over to the bed, where her 3-month-old twins lay flat on their backs, red-faced and crying. ... Running on four hours of sleep, the 18-year-old tried to feed both babies at once, holding Kendall in her arms while she tried to get Olivia to feed herself, her bottle propped up by a pillow. But the bottle kept slipping and the baby kept wailing. And Brooke’s boyfriend, Billy High, wouldn’t be home for another five hours.
“Please, fussy girl,” Brooke whispered. ...She peeked outside the room, just big enough for a full-size mattress, and realized she had barely seen the sun all day. The windows were covered by blankets, pinned up with thumbtacks to keep the room cool. Brooke rarely ventured into the rest of the house. Billy’s dad had taken them in when her mom kicked them out, and she didn’t want to get in his way. ... The hours without Billy were always the hardest. She knew he had to go, as they relied entirely on the $9.75 an hour he made working the line at Freebirds World Burrito, but she tortured herself imagining all the girls he might be meeting. And she wished she had somewhere to go, too.
Brooke found out she was pregnant late on the night of Aug. 29, two days before the Texas Heartbeat Act banned abortions once an ultrasound can detect cardiac activity, around six weeks of pregnancy. It was the most restrictive abortion law to take effect in the United States in nearly 50 years. ... For many Texans who have needed abortions since September, the law has been a major inconvenience, forcing them to drive hundreds of miles, and pay hundreds of dollars, for a legal procedure they once could have had at home. But not everyone has been able to leave the state. Some people couldn’t take time away from work or afford gas, while others, faced with a long journey, decided to stay pregnant. Nearly 10 months into the Texas law, they have started having the babies they never planned to carry to term.
Texas offers a glimpse of what much of the country would face if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as has been widely expected since a leaked draft opinion circulated last month. If the landmark precedent falls, roughly half the states in the country are expected to dramatically restrict abortion or ban it altogether, creating vast abortion deserts that will push many into parenthood.
{snip}
TOP: Brooke attends to her twin daughters while Billy grabs a bite to eat after his afternoon shift. BOTTOM: Photos of them and their twin daughters are on the fridge at home. (Marvi Lacar for The Washington Post)
{snip}
TOP: Billy works an afternoon shift at Freebirds World Burrito. BOTTOM: The twins sleep next to each other. (Marvi Lacar for The Washington Post)
{snip}
Story editing by Peter Wallsten. Photos by Marvi Lacar. Photo editing by Thomas Simonetti. Copy editing by Mike Cirelli. Design by Stephanie Hays.
Gift Article
https://wapo.st/3bobUlM
By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a national political reporter, covering abortion, at The Washington Post. She is the author of "Post Grad: Five Women and Their First Year Out of College." Twitter https://twitter.com/CAKitchener
This Texas teen wanted an abortion. She now has twins.
Brooke Alexander found out she was pregnant 48 hours before the Texas abortion ban took effect
By Caroline Kitchener
June 20, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — Brooke Alexander turned off her breast pump at 6:04 p.m. and brought two fresh bottles of milk over to the bed, where her 3-month-old twins lay flat on their backs, red-faced and crying. ... Running on four hours of sleep, the 18-year-old tried to feed both babies at once, holding Kendall in her arms while she tried to get Olivia to feed herself, her bottle propped up by a pillow. But the bottle kept slipping and the baby kept wailing. And Brooke’s boyfriend, Billy High, wouldn’t be home for another five hours.
“Please, fussy girl,” Brooke whispered. ...She peeked outside the room, just big enough for a full-size mattress, and realized she had barely seen the sun all day. The windows were covered by blankets, pinned up with thumbtacks to keep the room cool. Brooke rarely ventured into the rest of the house. Billy’s dad had taken them in when her mom kicked them out, and she didn’t want to get in his way. ... The hours without Billy were always the hardest. She knew he had to go, as they relied entirely on the $9.75 an hour he made working the line at Freebirds World Burrito, but she tortured herself imagining all the girls he might be meeting. And she wished she had somewhere to go, too.
Brooke found out she was pregnant late on the night of Aug. 29, two days before the Texas Heartbeat Act banned abortions once an ultrasound can detect cardiac activity, around six weeks of pregnancy. It was the most restrictive abortion law to take effect in the United States in nearly 50 years. ... For many Texans who have needed abortions since September, the law has been a major inconvenience, forcing them to drive hundreds of miles, and pay hundreds of dollars, for a legal procedure they once could have had at home. But not everyone has been able to leave the state. Some people couldn’t take time away from work or afford gas, while others, faced with a long journey, decided to stay pregnant. Nearly 10 months into the Texas law, they have started having the babies they never planned to carry to term.
Texas offers a glimpse of what much of the country would face if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade this summer, as has been widely expected since a leaked draft opinion circulated last month. If the landmark precedent falls, roughly half the states in the country are expected to dramatically restrict abortion or ban it altogether, creating vast abortion deserts that will push many into parenthood.
{snip}
TOP: Brooke attends to her twin daughters while Billy grabs a bite to eat after his afternoon shift. BOTTOM: Photos of them and their twin daughters are on the fridge at home. (Marvi Lacar for The Washington Post)
{snip}
TOP: Billy works an afternoon shift at Freebirds World Burrito. BOTTOM: The twins sleep next to each other. (Marvi Lacar for The Washington Post)
{snip}
Story editing by Peter Wallsten. Photos by Marvi Lacar. Photo editing by Thomas Simonetti. Copy editing by Mike Cirelli. Design by Stephanie Hays.
Gift Article
https://wapo.st/3bobUlM
By Caroline Kitchener
Caroline Kitchener is a national political reporter, covering abortion, at The Washington Post. She is the author of "Post Grad: Five Women and Their First Year Out of College." Twitter https://twitter.com/CAKitchener
