This (Surprisingly Funny) Video Shows What It's Actually Like to Schedule an Abortion

Deciding whether or not to get an abortion is a personal choice that every woman must make for herself.

And yet, in states like Texas and Missouri, where TRAP laws make it difficult for women to access abortion services, it can often feel like the decision is hardly in women's hands alone. Instead, women are subject to a slew of restrictive rules, mandatory wait times and various other roadblocks, just so they can schedule a damn appointment.

Here to illustrate this unfortunate phenomenon is a cheeky new YouTube video from the American Civil Liberties Union, which shows what it would be like if arranging an abortion was like being on hold with "tech support from hell."

Our protagonist in the clip calls tech support on a Monday morning, and gets a little speech from a state representative who says he disapproves of her choices.

Then he puts her on hold for 72 hours (a reference to the mandatory 72-hour waiting period to get an abortion in states like Oklahoma and North Carolina). 

The wait time is so extreme that she decides to learn French in the meantime, and actually becomes fairly fluent about midway through the video.

Also, she learns how to do that cups song thing from Pitch Perfect.

In the video's description, the ACLU explains that the clip was produced to generate conversation about the Supreme Court's upcoming decision RE: the Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt case, which is considering whether or not to uphold TRAP laws in Texas.

"If the Supreme Court upholds the TRAP laws in the Whole Women's Health v Hellerstedt case, Texas would be left with only ten clinics to serve 5.4 million—forcing women to travel vast distances to access services," the ACLU writes. "Such requirements have a particularly devastating effect on low income women who have to miss work, secure transportation and obtain childcare to reach clinics at such distances."

Indeed, at the end of the video, our protagonist is stuck with a 147-mile commute to her service center — a distance she is forced to travel for two separate appointments.

"Abortion is a constitutionally protected right," the description concludes. "But a right without access is not right at all."

Or, to quote our friend at the end of the video, "This is some bullshit!"

h/t Cosmopolitan