Abortion 'Travel Agents' Now a Thing

"Planning an abortion in Texas is totally overwhelming."

1.31.2017

When thinking about all the reasons to book a travel agent, abortion doesn’t necessarily come to mind, but that’s just exactly what Natalie St. Claire does: “help women navigate the roads (and the rules)” to terminate their children, according to Yahoo News.

St. Claire’s newfound job came as a result of pro-life initiatives in Texas, with “more than half of the 40-plus abortion clinics” closing due to passage of House Bill 2 last June.

“More than 40% of Texas women lived in a county without a provider as of 2014,” reports Yahoo. “A quarter of those women surveyed lived more than two hours — 139 miles — from the nearest provider.”

Since traveling those distances severely increase the cost of an abortion, St. Claire and her nonprofit Fund Texas Choice saw a sharp increase in women seeking her skills as an “abortion travel agent.”

In an interview with Refinery 29, St. Claire explained her job’s purpose:

If a woman needs to find a clinic or a fund to pay for the procedure, I can help. I book everything they need: bus, hotel. If they need an Uber for something, I get them an Uber. If they need to reschedule, I give them the resources. It’s a lot of texting. And faxing. As a millennial, I was not prepared to have a job full of faxing. But that’s the only way a hotel accepts for you to pay for someone else. I think that traditionally the word would be case manager, but it’s much looser than that. I’m more of a really annoying travel buddy who you can be in contact with while you get your abortion."

Traveling is always stressful, even if you’re going on a vacation. But planning an abortion in Texas is totally overwhelming. [H.B. 2] created chaos across the board for all Texans just trying to get anywhere to get an abortion. People who lived right next to a clinic would have to go four hours away to a different city in Texas, because their clinic was closed that week for some reason. It was a total mess. Understanding how the laws work is super complicated — by design. You need to find an open clinic that can take you. And it’s expensive. The average trip we plan costs $500. On top of that, women need to get time off of work; if they’re students, time off of school; find child care that they can afford, coordinate bringing a companion. Just having travel checked off that very long list is a relief.