With Roe Set to End, Many Women Worry About High-Risk Pregnancies

Jack Healy / The New York Times

Most states likely to outlaw abortions allow for exceptions to save a mother’s life. But many women and doctors ask: Where will lawmakers draw the line?

Brianna was seven weeks pregnant when she started worrying she would not live to see her due date. She had a narrow windpipe severely scarred by surgeries she had undergone as an infant, and as her pregnancy developed, she began wheezing and straining for breath.

She had not planned to get pregnant at 30 and said her doctor warned her the pregnancy was high-risk and could threaten her life. This month, she hurried to get an abortion near her home in Phoenix, concerned that if the Supreme Court acted before she did, she might lose the option.

“I probably wouldn’t have made it to term. Or I would die,” said Brianna, a nursing assistant who asked to be identified only by her first name. “It definitely saved my life.”

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