COLORADO SPRINGS — The United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe Versus Wade means Colorado is now considered a safe haven for women seeking access to abortion care.
"I can't stop crying thinking about it of how like so many women and people in general are going to be effected by this," said Ana Bencomo, who lives in El Paso, Texas.
Bencomo is 26-years-old and says she is not financially or mentally ready to have children.
She finds herself living in a state with some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
"As heartbreaking as it is to think of leaving my family and moving away... It's also just like, if this doesn't change, I have to make the best decision for myself, for my future, for future kids if I might have them."
Kristina Tocce, the Vice President and Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM), says a wave of out-of-state patients began for them before Roe V Wade was officially overturned. On Friday, the organization's phones were ringing off the hook.
"That influx that we have seen, from Texas alone, has been significant and impressive, and seeing what patients have had to go through is just... It is heavy, and it is hard."
Tocce says trigger laws in states outside of Colorado will disproportionately impact minorities, who are statistically more likely to live in poverty.
"It is very painful as a provider to know that when I see patients, I am seeing the patients who are able to access our services and are able to travel to us."
Tocce says her passion and interest in abortion care began during medical school, when one of her mentors taught her what practicing abortion care was like before Roe V Wade.
"They saw, routinely, the detrimental health outcomes that occurred to patients who did not have access to safe, legal abortions."
Right now if women travel from Texas to Colorado for abortion care, they will not face criminal charges when returning to Texas.
PPRM says women can tell them if they need help traveling to Colorado for care.
Contact PPRM here.
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