Team,

The right to make deeply personal health care decisions should not depend on where you live.

Yet across the globe there are increasing challenges for people seeking abortion care in areas known as "abortion deserts" — huge regions where access to abortion is not just limited, it's virtually non-existent.

We're fighting to eradicate abortion deserts... because your health care is your decision, no matter where you live.

And you know, it's only getting worse in the U.S. Just last month, the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion ban, decimating abortion access in the South and forcing health care providers to turn away patients who need abortion care.

This decision was delivered less than one year after South Carolina issued a ruling in a case we filed blocking a nearly identical six-week ban.

South Carolina has served as a key state for abortion access for surrounding states that have banned or severely restricted access to this essential health care. With this six-week ban now in effect, it has become nearly impossible to access abortion care in the South.

Here are just a few things that people who live in abortion deserts must consider just to get essential health care:

• Time off work or school
• Cost of transportation
• Cost of lodging
• Childcare
• Cost to see a provider
• Mandatory waiting periods or in-person requirements
• Limited appointment availability or delays in care
• Risk of traveling with pregnancy complications, especially while attempting to receive emergency care

Right now, abortion deserts are growing. They have catastrophic impacts on health care. The Center for Reproductive Rights is filing cases to ensure all people have access to their essential human right to reproductive care.

Thanks to your support, the Center is working toward a world where all people in all circumstances can access the abortion care they need. Unfortunately, we know abortion bans fall hardest on people who already face discriminatory barriers to health care access. We need you now.

Everyone deserves access to the full range of reproductive health care no matter where they live. Help us fight forward and support our work today.

Onward,

Center for Reproductive Rights