When the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, Bradley YeeFoon teamed up with her friend Elizabeth Gillette in Colorado to host, pay for travel expenses and connect Texans to abortion services.
Bradley YeeFoon has tried to reach out to women who are seeking abortions on social media and has encouraged women to contact her.
Bradley YeeFoon said the court’s decision felt personal. She’s had an abortion.
“It (an abortion) improved my life greatly so that I could focus on the children I already have. I wasn’t ready to have another one. Sometimes birth control fails. It is not 100%,” Bradley YeeFoon said.
The duo met when Gillette worked at the ACLU’s office in Dallas. Even before the decision, they said they had begun gearing up, “putting resources on the table” and preparing their home to be ready and available.
“Whether it is driving somebody to her (Gillette‘s) house or helping them find access to the pills, we want other folks to know we are there to support them,” Bradley YeeFoon said.
Restrictive laws disproportionally impact the poor and marginalized the most.
Bradley YeeFoon said in her experience working as the Director of Food Justice at For Oak Cliff during the pandemic in a predominantly Black community, she’s witnesses the barriers people of color face accessing health care.
In Texas about 50,000 people obtained abortions each year, according to the Texas Tribune. Three-fourths of people accessing abortion are considered poor or low income, and most are people of color. And the operations aren’t cheap. Before the court’s decision, a person living in Texas could expect to spend between $1,000 and $4,000 to cover the costs of obtaining a surgical abortion.
Gillette and Bradley YeeFoon said they’ve been impacted and know people who have been impacted by the inaccessibility of reproductive healthcare.
And while they are worried about the future, they said they want to help where they can.
“I’m okay with the risks,” Bradley YeeFoon said. “The risks are not overshadowing the necessity to standing up. If I have to spend a night in jail or fight a legal battle, I’ll do that for my daughter. She’s five. She’ll be growing up in Texas. It's worth it.”
Both are mothers of daughters and aren’t afraid of the consequences. They say they want to set an example for their daughters by helping other women who don't have the same resources as they do.
"It’s the bare minimum of what we are being called to do as women living in this period,” Gillette said.
Got a tip? Email Alejandra Martinez at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter @alereports.
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