'My heart stopped': Nashville woman talks about her pregnancy and abortion journey to Aurora

Kara did not intend to become pregnant. The 22-year-old recent college graduate had a challenging full-time job and was living in Nashville with her boyfriend.

But Kara, who did not want to use her last name, started feeling nauseated on Super Bowl Sunday 2019 and took a pregnancy test. And then another. Both were positive.

Sitting in the bathroom, "it was an out-of-body experience," Kara explained in a video provided by Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

"My heart stopped. It was hard to catch my breath."

The pregnancy was unplanned, and Kara said she wasn't ready for a child.

Her quest to receive abortion care occurred before Roe v. Wade was reversed, but it highlights the challenge women face in other states. "The hardest part came next - finding a provider and scheduling an abortion appointment anywhere near Nashville. It was impossible," she said.

"I finally found that the closest location I could get that abortion appointment, within a week (with) same-day services, was over 500 miles and an eight-hour drive away at Planned Parenthood in Aurora."

The day before the procedure, Kara and her boyfriend drove to Illinois and stayed at a motel. In the freezing cold as protesters held up signs, they walked into the waiting room.

"That was where the easy part started," Kara said. "This is where I was going to get a small procedure by a trusted medical professional and walk out no longer pregnant."