Jackson, Miss., is located in the state of Mississippi. Miracle Allen used her last tank of gas to drive an hour and a half to the nearest clinic that would care for her and her baby.
Allen was four months pregnant at the time of the storm. The only thing she had left was her car. A group of people, including Allen's mother and daughter, fled in it to the small Mississippi town of Kosciusko.
She wanted to find a doctor to check on her baby. There is only one local obstetrician who splits her work between two rural counties. Not one doctor who'd take a patient without insurance or an ID was found within an hour's drive.
The Sisters in Birth clinic was suggested after she was turned away from a Jackson area hospital. She arrived in a state of panic. Is she going to be seen by them? Is the stress of the storm affecting her unborn child? She would go somewhere else if this place turned her away.
Allen is one of almost all the mothers served at the clinic in Mississippi's capital who are black. A lot of people haven't been to a doctor for a long time until they become pregnant and qualify for Medicaid. Some are at risk for diseases such as hypertension. Almost all of them have no other choice but to go.
Israel is the Clinic CEO and founder. State Republican officials are trying to ban abortion while waiting for a ruling on the legality of the procedure.
Israel said that they're doing everything wrong. Mississippi is pro-birth, but not pro- life. We have to do more than just end abortion if we are going to be pro-life states.
Some communities could be affected more by the decision to overturn the Wade decision.
Mississippi has the highest infant death rate in the nation, and Black babies are more likely to die than whites. Black women are disproportionately affected by maternal deaths in Mississippi. About 20 percent of Mississippi women are uninsured and rural hospitals are closing at an alarming rate.
Israel and others said that COVID-19 made things worse with overwhelmed hospitals and a flailing economy.
Israel opened her clinic in the middle of the epidemic. She wanted to teach Black women who have been taken advantage of in the medical system how to advocate for themselves.
There is education and care for pregnant patients at the Sisters in Birth clinic. Israel takes a multi-pronged approach to women's physical, social and emotional health.
Community health workers help create eating and exercise plans, meet with patients at home, and join them in the hospital for labor. Employees help with the college application process. Israel wants Sisters in Birth to help patients with health issues before they give birth, so they can get the social support they need.
The art of female activists on the sea green walls were displayed when Allen arrived. There are magazines with black women on the covers.
Allen, a single mother and waitress who lost her job during the Pandemic, was going to be seen by staff without insurance. They helped her apply for Medicaid, set up an exercise and nutrition plan, and gave her money to get home.
Allen felt like he could breathe.
Allen said that thanks to Sisters in Birth, she'd already had more medical care than before. Israel calls her when the clinic is not open.
She was able to transition to life in Mississippi while she was pregnant thanks to the stability.
She said they knew her by name when she walked in. You don't have to tell them who you are or what you're going through.
Israel needs money to expand. She is trying to get $3 million in federal money to open Mississippi's first birth center. She imagined a place where black women could give birth.
One of the few midwifes in Mississippi is on staff. There's a rich history of midwives in the south. Most Black babies were delivered by midwives because of racist policies. Hospitals became desegregated and white physicians sought control over the birth market as midwives were pushed out of the industry.
For a total of four, Israel would like to hire more midwives. She wants to build a cabin for women to stay so they can be supported before labor.
Israel believes that if abortion is banned, she will see an increase in patients at the Sisters in Birth clinic.
She said that poor women who can't get an abortion will look for clinics that don't have a limit on the number of patients they accept. Whether a woman wants to have an abortion or not is dependent on support.
She wants to give more women the chance to give birth at the center instead of at hospitals. Israel said she often sees doctors pushing instuments that aren't needed. Mississippi has the highest rate of c-sections in the United States.
A five-year study conducted by the federal government showed a dramatic reduction in the number of low-weight and premature births at birth centers. Israel wants to replicate the results of the study for the women of Mississippi.
Gabriel wanted to have a woman of color in the room when she gave birth, so she went to Israel's clinic.
She said that they get ignored a lot. I wanted our babies to come into this world without stress because I have experienced other people not listening to what we want.
I wanted someone who looked like me to understand what I was going through.
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