Local women have long road to abortion

For two hours, Kris sat. And thought. And hurt.

Sprawled out in the Chevy's back seat, Kris nursed her cramping body and reflected upon the abortion she had just undergone.

Kris, who asked that her last name be withheld, traveled to Harrisburg last Friday to obtain a legal abortion. The car trip back to State College, she said, intensified her pain and gave her more than enough time to think about her experience.

"I slept all the way down. But coming back -- it was tough," Kris said. "I just wish we had a clinic here."

That two-hour car trip rings familiar for many University women who have gotten abortions during their college years. The closest clinics available for local women seeking abortions are Hillcrest Women's Medical Center and Harrisburg Reproductive Health Services -- both in Harrisburg, about 90 miles away.

That distance has angered some pro-choice supporters, who said that the absence of an abortion clinic in central Pennsylvania decreases the options for pregnant women who may not want to carry their pregnancies to term but cannot afford transportation to Harrisburg.

"I'm absolutely disgusted," said Penn State Pro-Choice President Laura Grow. "A woman in State College can go anywhere around here for (pregnancy) testing or options counseling. But she must go two hours for an abortion."

Peggy Ross, Hillcrest Center's director of educational programs, agreed.

"Socially, it stinks," Ross said.

The lack of a clinic here hits lower class women and students lacking financial resources the hardest since these women who can barely afford an abortion must also pay travel expenses, she said.

Of about 70 counties in Pennsylvania, only 23 offer abortion services, Ross added.

Correction: When this article was originally published in the print version it incorrectly reported that in 1989, 48,274 abortions were performed in Pennsylvania on resident women. The correct year is 1988.

According to statistics compiled by the State Health Data Center of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 48,274 Pennsylvanians received abortions in this state in 1988. Of those, 517 women, or 1.1 percent, were Centre County residents.

Correction: When this article was originally published in the print version it misstated the organization Joanne Tosti-Vasey is president of. The organization is the Ni-Ta-Nee chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Because Centre County boasts such a young population, those figures bear a great impact, said Joanne Tosti-Vasey, president of the Ni-Ta-Nee chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Women younger than 30 represent the largest segment of people obtaining abortions, Tosti-Vasey added.

About 87 percent of Centre County women obtaining abortions in 1989 were younger than 30 years old, according to the state health department's records.

Grow said she has driven many students seeking abortions, including Kris, to the Harrisburg clinics.

"It's really pretty grueling," Grow said. "You know, sometimes (the women) get car-sick, or there's hemorrhaging or motion sickness -- the physical rigors of that trip alone are just phenomenal. It takes a tremendous toll on a person."

But Ross said the two-hour ride from Harrisburg should not cause women any unusual physical problems. Complications from an abortion depend upon how far along a woman is in her pregnancy, she said.

"Sitting is one of the best things you can do -- it exerts pressure on the uterus," Ross said, adding that inactivity decreases the chances of undue hemorrhaging and excessive cramping.

Currently, no group has specified any plans to organize a clinic here.

Some pro-choice advocates expressed restrained hope for a clinic in Centre County surviving.

Grow, who plans to graduate in May, said she applied for an internship with Planned Parenthood. If she gets the job, she said, she will stay in Centre County and work to establish an abortion clinic here.

Some pro-life groups denounced the possibility of an area clinic.

"The two in Harrisburg are two too many," said Penn State Students for Life Vice President Tricia Giannini.

Giannini said a local clinic would probably increase the number of women obtaining abortions, since the closer location would be more convenient.

Tammy Allen, Centre Region director for Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Federation for Life, agreed that a local clinic would mean more abortions.

"It would be a lot easier for girls (to obtain an abortion)," Allen said. "They wouldn't have to worry about a bus. It would be a matter of walking downtown and there (the clinic) is."

About seven years ago, Tosti-Vasey said, an abortion clinic tried to establish a branch here and secured a promise from a local landowner who said he would sell or lease a building to it. But several pro-life groups protested its development and intimidated the building's owner to back out of the agreement before renovations could begin, Tosti-Vasey said.