Hi there,

My name is Tammi Kromenaker, I'm the Director of Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota—a longtime partner of the Center for Reproductive Rights. Our clinic is the only abortion provider in the state, serving hundreds of people in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota every year.

Just three years after opening our doors, we filed our first case with the Center, successfully challenging the efforts of anti-abortion activists to falsely link abortion to breast cancer as a scare tactic for those seeking care.

That was just the start of a decades-long partnership fighting for the reproductive rights of North Dakotans.

In 2019, we partnered with the Center once again to file a new case along with the American Medical Association, challenging two North Dakota laws that require physicians and other members of the care team to provide patients with false, misleading, non-medical information about abortion care.

One law would have forced physicians to misinform their patients that medication abortion may be "reversible," which is contrary to science, and require that physicians convey other messages that are false and misleading.

That's right, these laws require that we say things that violate our medical ethics and things that are simply incorrect and not backed up by science. As a Center supporter, I know I don't have to tell you how outrageous these laws are.

I called Autumn Katz, a litigator at the Center, and told her that I wouldn't lie to our patients without putting up a fight. So we got to work.

A few months later, a trial court granted our request, blocking the law while our case continued. But soon after, the court granted a motion from several anti-choice organizations to intervene in the case and also defend the laws alongside the state of North Dakota. The case is ongoing, and we expect it to go to trial sometime in 2023.

Here's what I want to make clear: People seeking abortion in North Dakota face significant barriers to abortion care already. Anti-abortion politicians in my state have enacted a 24-hour waiting period for patients seeking abortion; limited the conditions under which state, public and private insurance can cover abortion services; banned the use of telemedicine for abortion; and required parental notification for minors seeking abortion services.

I've been working in reproductive health care since I was in college, and I continue to come in day after day because of our patients. Our clinic approaches care through a social work lens—we're not rushing people out the door, we take the time to look people in the eye. We are intentional with the whole process, starting from that first phone call to the steadfast escorts who walk patients in, and to the care they receive once they're inside.

The politicians passing restrictions like these have never had to hold the hand of a patient in need—and it shows. It's simple: patients need to be able to trust their providers. With the help of the Center and allies like you, we're working to ensure they can.

Thank you for all that you do. By supporting the Center, you're also supporting clinics like mine, and I'm so grateful to have you on our team.

Sincerely,

Tammi Kromenaker
Director, Red River Women's Clinic
Fargo, North Dakota