Rural health care is different. The clinics are smaller, the specialists and pharmacies are farther away, and there's always a shortage of skilled practitioners.

I was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, but I grew up in Mantador, North Dakota. Breckenridge had the nearest hospital, a short trip north on County Road 3 and a bit of a hike east on State Route 13. Altogether, it would take around thirty minutes to get to a hospital — even longer if there was a combine taking up the lanes!

Let's just say, we didn't go to the hospital unless we absolutely had to. Living in "fly-over country" means that health care is hard to access, but it's getting even more difficult for women in towns just like Mantador.

In the post-Roe environment, abortion rights — and the doctors who make those rights possible — are under attack. States have banned abortion , exposed doctors to prosecution and lawsuits for performing standard care, and written laws to stop residents from seeking abortion care in other states.

It's intrusive, terrible, evil, and based in misogyny.

And those are just a few of the words that come to mind when contemplating these laws.

But beyond the damage these bills have done to abortion rights, they also undermine maternal health in the areas where it was already near its breaking point.

And it's not hard to understand why — who would want to work in a state where they can be prosecuted for saving lives and providing what is considered the standard of care across the country?

New doctors aren't specializing in obstetrics and experienced practitioners are fleeing states with restrictive abortion laws. With doctors fleeing and women unable to access critical care, some states are refusing to keep track of maternal mortality rates. They know deaths are rising, they know why, but they don't care.

The risks of pregnancy only grow with each newly enacted restriction, and communities in rural America are suffering because of it.

I went to Washington because my state needed a reasonable voice to represent it and I created the One Country Project to be that voice for all rural Americans. We need real solutions for the maternal health crisis in our country, but no solution is complete without protections for abortion care in every state.

Together, we will keep up that fight, and together we will win.

Heidi

Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator for North Dakota Founder, One Country Project Express Donate:
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Founded by former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), the One Country Project is dedicated to reopening the dialogue with rural communities, rebuilding trust and respect, and advancing an opportunity agenda for rural Americans. Our mission is to ensure rural America’s priorities and values are heard, understood, well-represented and reflected in policy in Washington.
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