Laurie’s Story
By Emma Laurent
“My story…it’s not really that complex,” Laurie says, as she proceeds to tell an absurd story about trying to obtain an abortion in Wyoming.
Due to the specifics of Laurie’s story, not only have we changed her name here, we have decided to not even mention the town she is from, the hospital her procedures took place in, nor the American Indian tribe she belongs to. This is to protect her privacy, as well as the doctor who put her career on the line to help her.
In 2019, Laurie Strode was 33. She found herself in a new, loving relationship and wanted to take all necessary steps to protect herself. She made an appointment at the local clinic to discuss birth control. The clinic conducted a routine ultrasound to ensure Laurie’s body was healthy. Unfortunately, Laurie would not be leaving the clinic that day with birth control; instead, she was leaving with a diagnosis of early stage cervical cancer.
Laurie, and her partner Mike, jumped into immediate action. Laurie scheduled herself for a hysterectomy at the local hospital. By choosing to get the hysterectomy, Laurie had to make a quick, yet permanent decision, that she would never bare a child naturally. She was at peace with her decision.
Before a girl or woman goes into surgery, it is standard for her to take a pregnancy test to confirm she’s not pregnant. Laurie waited in her gown, ready to begin final prep when she heard a commotion outside the thin curtain that served as a barrier between her and the nurses’ station. Laurie’s nurse was showing the pregnancy test to the other nurses, discussing the results in muffled tones. Something was wrong. Laurie watched through the curtain as everyone on the floor found out she was pregnant before she did.
Laurie’s doctor, Dr. Loomis, came back to the “room” made of curtains. Dr. Loomis explained the results and what they meant. Yes, you are pregnant. And yes, you still have cervical cancer. Laurie could carry the pregnancy to term, her only chance to have a natural child, but at a huge cost to her health. The cancer would get worse and due to the pregnancy she wouldn’t be able to undergo any type of treatment. There was no way of knowing if Laurie would even survive the pregnancy. But it was still her decision to make.
Dr. Loomis began to speak to Laurie and Mike in almost a whisper, “Whatever you decide, I would not trust the doctors here to operate on you.” In 2019, abortion was (and still is) legal in Wyoming; however, Dr. Loomis didn’t trust that the local team of doctors would be able to put aside their own religious and political beliefs to be objective health advocates for Laurie. Due to the unprofessional stir already occurring on the floor, it became clear to Laurie that this hospital, this town, this community, would not put her health, let alone her privacy, first.
The hospital sent Laurie home against her wishes. She was told she was still of child bearing age and would regret her choice to move forward with the hysterectomy.
Laurie and her partner discussed the incredibly complex set of cards they had just been dealt and came to a decision together. Laurie would move forward with the hysterectomy, and therefore the abortion. At her physician’s recommendation, she would do so out of state.
Laurie was maybe only two weeks along. The doctors who had scheduled her original surgery had done so mistaking the cluster of cells they saw on the ultrasound as an upcoming period. They hadn’t even noticed she was pregnant, but now they would use these tiny cells to prevent Laurie from getting the life-saving surgery she needed. Dr. Loomis knew that if Laurie were to push to have the surgery done locally, Laurie would have to face hurtful conversations and small-town gossip. It was more than likely the local team of doctors would still outright refuse to perform the abortion that would save Laurie’s life due to their own personal beliefs. “Literally a pile of cells that were still blood. There was no formation. There was nothing.”
Five years later, Laurie is cancer-free. She and Mike are engaged. “I just count my blessings that I had a physician on my side…For her to be brutally honest about her colleagues….and the situation at hand [and] that she didn’t trust them.” Laurie hasn’t been back to the local hospital and its system of doctors. Until she sees the need to, Laurie will continue treating herself with natural remedies.