Tennessee Has Banned Abortion, But We Remain Open
Due to the complete ban on abortion put in place by the state of Tennessee, carafem’s Mt. Juliet health center will no longer provide procedural abortion or abortion pills as of August 25, 2022.
carafem will still provide reproductive health care
The Mt Juliet carafem location will remain open, offering affordable birth control options, STI testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, ultrasound for pregnancy dating, and information about reproductive healthcare. Additional healthcare services may be added after an ongoing assessment of community-based needs for health care services. Sadly, we know that thousands of people each year who need, and want, abortion care will now be forced to consider travel, self-sourcing abortion pills online, or continuing a pregnancy they do not feel is in the best interest of themselves or their families.
Across the US, extremist politicians are putting roadblocks between pregnant people and reproductive healthcare. This sweeping abortion ban in Tennessee is one of the most rigid in the United States, not even allowing an exception for rape or incest. As we are forced to pause the provision of abortion care in this state, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the positive impact carafem had, and will continue to have, in this community.
We are proud of the quality of service carafem has been able to provide in Tennessee
carafem came to Tennessee in 2019 to improve access to abortion care for people who had been traveling many hours to our Atlanta, Georgia location looking for help. As soon as we opened in Mt Juliet, an entire month of appointments filled in less than one day, signaling the immense need for better access to abortion care in this community. Within 48 hours of opening, Mt. Juliet city commissioners held an emergency session to discuss a rezoning initiative in an attempt to block our ability to provide reproductive healthcare. We responded by engaging in a legal battle with the city of Mt. Juliet over this abuse of power and ultimately won, showing other communities that this type of government control over small business is illegal.
Since 2019, carafem has provided abortion care to people from across the state – those clients trusted us to help them with very personal and private health care decisions. carafem believes each of us should be able to live, work, and make decisions about our health and our future with unrestricted access to resources and support. When people can make decisions about their own reproductive health care, including whether and when to have children, they have healthier families and more control over their economic future.
Testimonial Highlights for our Mt. Juliet Health Center
We are proud of the quality of service carafem has been able to provide in Tennessee, as well as in each of the other communities we serve. Our clients consistently tell us how grateful they are for the care they receive in our offices. In feedback left after their visit, 99% of the people we have served in Tennessee would recommend carafem to a friend and feel that carafem staff treated them with kindness and respect. We are grateful for the many people who have left a review sharing their experience with others online. Here is a small example of the thousands of people who were impacted by the high-quality abortion care carafem brought to the community.
We look forward to continuing to support the communities we serve with quality health care that is responsive to the physical and emotional wellbeing of our clients. If you are able, consider making a donation to help carafem continue to grow and innovate in the reproductive health care field.
As always, if you need an appointment for birth control, STI testing and treatment, or (outside of Tennessee,) an abortion, you can schedule it online or give us a call at 1-855-SAY-CARA.
