![Albuquerque - The exam room is dark on purpose to calm the patient.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b28ee75/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5185x3456+0+14/resize/2000x1333!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F66%2Fc1%2F355a6e68420695b87822647780be%2Fbw-abortion-final-01-redo.jpg)
Knowing that the abortion protections of Roe vs. Wade were in jeopardy, The Times early this year formed a team to report on the issue.
Named as photographer, I traveled throughout the West, visiting abortion clinics and centers run by those opposed to the procedure. I was inside a Texas clinic the moment the Dobbs vs. Jackson decision came down.
For this assignment, the patients’ privacy and doctors’ safety were forefront in my mind. It was a delicate situation. At times, I was able to use a mirrorless camera, which made the shutter silent. I felt less obtrusive, which was important.
Some of the most poignant photographs came from a clinic in New Mexico.
I had sent emails to the clinic administrator of the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health in Albuquerque and the physician on staff. I reiterated how important this issue was for women. I agreed not to photograph any patient without their permission.
They said I could come.
I was surprised by how many patients wanted to tell their story, especially the torment they felt dealing with their state’s abortion restrictions and their own conscience.
![A family physician and her resident perform an ultrasound on a 25-year-old woman](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6775c6d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5306x3479+0+0/resize/2000x1311!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe7%2F4b%2Fb5877435435eb9d9fc06fb6c89e7%2Fbw-abortion-final-02.jpg)
“I think we’ll see a lot of unsafe abortions and women dying.”
— Dr. William Hern, owner of Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, on the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade
![A woman sitting on an exam table drinks from a cup as a doctor sits nearby and a child lies on the floor](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/a6413f2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5472x3648+0+0/resize/2000x1333!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F34%2F4e%2F6cc3a420497081b266caf0a07f2c%2Fbw-abortion-final-04.jpg)
“Oh, my gosh, the magnitude for us is going to be tremendous. ... This ripples far beyond New Mexico, and they’re going to be coming to us.”
— Dr. Lisa Hofler, University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health
![Antiabortion protesters pray in front of Dr. Warren Hern's abortion clinic Feb. 1 in Boulder, Colo.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7b3310c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4028x2700+0+0/resize/2000x1341!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fac%2Fbd%2Fcbeb04e34cebbb5572a91221ea9d%2Fbw-abortion-final-03.jpg)
“I think we’ll see a lot of unsafe abortions and women dying.”
— Dr William Hern, director of Boulder Abortion Clinic
![Protesters holding signs chant and march](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/40a5698/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5472x3648+0+0/resize/2000x1333!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2c%2F2e%2F964911174488b88cd925d6d63884%2Fbw-abortion-final-05.jpg)
“Keep your laws off my body.”
— Abortion rights supporter protesting the end of Roe vs. Wade
![Pharmacy workers retrieve pills from a shelf](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0d230e6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7063x4296+0+0/resize/2000x1216!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F52%2F0e%2Fe61c32e645449338e33a72533346%2Fbw-abortion-final-06.jpg)
![A woman sits on a park bench next to a baby stroller](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/931253d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8192x5464+0+0/resize/2000x1334!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F11%2Fb0%2Faaf1826c4192b3563ba1678194d6%2Fbw-abortion-final-07.jpg)
“They were really willing to help. They had a lot of resources.”
— Rayenieshia Cole, mother of three, on the Birth Choice pregnancy center in Dallas
![Women sit on pews and kneel to pray in a chapel](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/64cc5da/2147483647/strip/true/crop/7481x4715+0+0/resize/2000x1261!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F15%2F77b6652e4e4faf119b3e3fcb447d%2Fbw-abortion-final-08.jpg)
“We pray for an end to abortion. We hope that day will come.”
— Ronda Kay Moreland, chair of Birth Choice’s board
![A woman sits in a chair against a wall in an exam room](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/08080dc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8192x5464+0+0/resize/2000x1334!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F15%2F3f%2Ff6d2db424f4caed5f3b2455c5088%2Fbw-abortion-final-09.jpg)
![A staff member at Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio wipes away tears](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6a8f146/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4873x3204+0+0/resize/2000x1315!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F6f%2Fa44e840e419ca5232770d536bc84%2Fbw-abortion-final-10.jpg)
“The Supreme Court just overturned Roe vs. Wade. They’ve taken away your right to choose what to do with your body.”
— Dr. Alan Braid, clinic owner
![A teary staff member hugs a patient April Reese,41, after informing her the clinic could no longer provide abortion services](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37cf604/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4616x3048+0+0/resize/2000x1321!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0f%2Fc5%2F848059814ecaa6aaf04375f80ca0%2Fbw-abortion-final-11.jpg)
“So we have to go out of state? This is insane.”
— April Reese, who was turned away from an abortion clinic
![Tara Shaver, a local antiabortion missionary, kneels at the graves of fetal remains at Baby Land.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cc356c0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5319x3457+0+0/resize/2000x1300!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc3%2F5e%2F6ef3c83e412c9d67237669473859%2Fbw-abortion-final-12.jpg)
“We need to meet these women where they are and provide enough support that they don’t need to choose between their child’s life and their own.”
— Tara Shaver, antiabortion “missionary”
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