User:Dhar4601/Types of abortion restrictions in the United States

Waiting periods
27 states require a person seeking an abortion to wait up to six days, most often 1 day, although one state requires a waiting period of eighteen hours while another requires a waiting period of seventy-two hours  after receiving counseling and before having the abortion. 'In the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey'', the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of waiting periods because the Justices determined that they don't pose an "undue burden" or "substantial obstacle" to getting an abortion.  Many states require people seeking an abortion to have mandatory counseling before the procedure, and 28 of the states that require counseling have a mandatory waiting period, usually up to 24 hours, between the counseling and abortion.''' 16 states require a person to make two trips to the clinic before receiving an abortion because they must receive counseling in person at the clinic, wait the designated waiting period, and return to the clinic to have the procedure done. South Dakota requires the person to obtain mandatory counseling from an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center during this time frame. Waiting periods often act as a barrier to accessing abortion because they delay the procedure and are not associated with increased decision certainty about having an abortion.

Transportation Issues to accessing abortion
In states such as Alabama and Mississippi people often have the challenge of traveling far distances to obtain a medical abortion. As of 2019, there are only three healthcare clinics in Alabama that offer abortion. According to Guttmacher Institute, about one-third of people seeking an abortion in Alabama must travel more than 25 miles to receive the procedure. Furthermore, only seven percent of counties in Alabama have a medical provider in the county that offers abortion. 'After the Dobbs'' decision, travel times to the nearest abortion provider have significantly increased in states where abortion has been banned. '''

'''For low-income women and women of color, particularly Black women, the difficulty of accessing abortion is more pronounced. Low-income women are less likely to be able to take off work and organize childcare to travel long distances to have an abortion which significantly restricts their access to abortion compared to wealthy women who have the resources to travel out of state. Additionally, Southern and Midwestern states that have banned abortion after the reversal of Roe v. Wade have a higher population of Black women who will not be able to access the procedure in their state. '''

People often must seek two trips to an abortion provider due to a waiting period between mandated counseling and the procedure. The waiting period is typically 24 hours before the scheduled abortion. There are organizations such as the Yellowhammer Fund which help people seeking an abortion by assisting with payments and providing logistical support. This can help ease the burden of costs associated with transportation for people seeking an abortion. On the other hand, most clinics do not offer transportation or financial resources to patients. Most of the time, it is the responsibility of a patient to find their means of transportation and finances to fund the abortion.