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TELEVISION WRITERS STRIKE. I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT, IT’S BEEN MORE THAN A YEAR SINCE THE SUPREME COURT REVERSED ROE V WADE ABORTIONS ARE NOW BANNED OR RESTRICTED AND AT LEAST 14 STATES AND THAT MEANS CITIES AND TOWNS IN STATES THAT ALLOW THEM ARE SEEING AN INFLUX OF WOMEN COMING FROM OTHER STATES. MIDWEST ACCESS COALITION IS A NONPROFIT THAT PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO THOSE TRAVELING FOR ABORTIONS IT SAYS NEEDS ARE SKYROCKETING. THE NUMBERS OF WHERE CLIENTS ARE COMING FROM POST DOBBS HAS JUST FLIPPED ON ITS HEAD. WE’RE SUPPORTING MORE PEOPLE FROM THE SOUTH THAN EVER BEFORE. WE’VE SEEN OVER 300 PEOPLE FROM TEXAS ALONE THIS YEAR, CARBONDALE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES THAT’S BECOME A SO-CALLED SAFE HAVEN FOR ABORTION SERVICES. TWO NEW CLINICS OPEN THEIR LAST YEAR AND THEY SEE NEARLY 800 PATIENTS EVERY MONTH. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ TRAVELED TO CARBONDALE TO SEE HOW THE COMMUNITY IS GRAPPLING WITH LIFE ON THE FAULT LINE OF AMERICA’S ABORTION DEBATE. THE AMTRAK LINE FROM NEW ORLEANS TO CHICAGO WITH A STOP IN CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS, A COLLEGE TOWN OF ABOUT 22,000 PEOPLE BORN BY THE FARMS AND FIELDS OF AMERICA’S HEARTLAND. WE’RE ALL GOING TO BREED TOGETHER NOW. SO I WANT YOU TO GO AHEAD AND CLOSE YOUR EYES. IT’S ALSO HOME TO CHASTITY MAYES, A 47 YEAR OLD DOULA. SHE HELPS COUPLES NAVIGATE THE BIRTH PROCESS. IT’S ACTUALLY JUST SUPPORTING THEM AND TEACHING THEM TO ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES. I MEAN, IT’S ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. IT’S A MIRACLE. WE GET A TEXT THERE’S ABOUT 20 OF US IN THE GROUP TEXT, BUT CHASTITY HAS ANOTHER ROLE. SHE’S PART OF A NETWORK OF TRAINED VOLUNTEERS WHO HELP PATIENTS COMING INTO TOWN FOR ABORTIONS, GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO. CAN YOU PICK THEM UP FROM THE AIRPORT OR CAN YOU TAKE THEM TO THE TRAIN STATION? WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME BUILDING COMMUNITY AND BUILDING A NETWORK OF SUPPORT OUT HERE. JENNIFER PEPPER IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT CHOICE’S CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. YOU’VE REACHED CARBONDALE CHOICES. HOW MAY I HELP YOU TODAY? THE CLINIC, ONE OF TWO THAT IS OPENED IN CARBONDALE, ILL. THIS PAST YEAR, PERFORMS ABOUT 20 ABORTIONS PER DAY. PATIENTS COMING FROM AS FAR AWAY AS WEST TEXAS. THE WOMEN WERE SEEING ARE PRIMARILY FROM THE SOUTHEAST TENNESSEE, ARKANSAS, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA AND KENTUCKY. THEY CUT ACROSS SOCIOECONOMIC GUIDELINES, ACROSS EDUCATION LEVELS. AND WHEN THEY COME IN, A LOT OF THEM ARE RELIEVED THAT THEY’VE GOTTEN TO A PLACE AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THIS SERVICE THAT THEY SO DEEPLY WANT. SO ONCE YOU TAKE THAT, THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN GIVE YOU TO REVERSE IT. OKAY, 37 YEAR OLD AMY HERE FOR A MEDICATION ABORTION. SHE AND HER BOYFRIEND DROVE 3.5 HOURS FROM NASHVILLE. I WAS REALLY ANXIOUS ABOUT COMING, NOT ABOUT RECEIVING THE HELP AND THE HEALTH CARE THAT I NEED, BUT ABOUT JUST FACING A JUDGMENT FROM PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHO I AM AND DON’T KNOW MY STORY. BUT IN A CITY WHERE UNTIL NOW, THERE HAVE BEEN NO ABORTIONS PERFORMED IN MORE THAN THREE DECADES, SOME, LIKE RESTAURANT OWNER MARILYN MARTIN, DON’T LIKE WHAT THEY’RE SEEING. I JUST FEEL STRONGLY THAT LIFE IS PRECIOUS AND IT’S GOD SENT. I FEEL LIKE I CAN’T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT ANYMORE. IT’S VERY EMOTIONAL TO ME. THIS ISSUE. AND AS A THIRD CLINIC IS RUMORED TO BE OPENING ITS DOORS SOON. ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF? DO YOU ANY BOOKS NEARBY? SAINT ANNE’S CRADLE OF HOPE, A CATHOLIC NONPROFIT SETTING UP SHOP, VOLUNTEERS HANDING OUT SUPPLIES TO MOTHERS IN NEED IF THEY CAN THINK OF SAINT ANNE, CRADLE OF HOPE IS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP THEM CHOOSE LIFE. AND WE WANT TO SHARE THAT MESSAGE. A DIFFERENT MESSAGE, THOUGH, FROM NANCY THALMANN, WHO DURING A VISIT TO HER HOMETOWN, DROPPED OFF PIZZAS FOR THE STAFF AT THE CHOICES CLINIC. I JUST WANT TO SUPPORT THEM AND LET THEM KNOW I LOVE THEM AND TO CONTINUE TO DO THIS VALUABLE WORK. IT’S VITALLY NEEDED RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN WHO DON’T HAVE ACCESS. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR AMY RELIEF? SHE DID HAVE ACCESS AND THE MEANS TO GET HERE, BUT WORRIES ABOUT THOSE WHO DON’T. BEING OPEN ABOUT IT, I THINK IS THE FIRST STEP. AND THERE’S NO SHAME IN IT. MAKING YOUR OWN MIND UP, KNOWING WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU. ONE, TWO, THREE AND WHAT’S RIGHT FOR CHASTITY MAE’S HELPING WOMEN ON EITHER JOURNEY. I REALLY FEEL LIKE IT’S MY JOB IN LIFE. IF I CAN PROVIDE HELP TO OTHERS, THAT’S JUST WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING IN CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS, FO