- Dr. Katie McHugh has been providing abortions in Indiana for the last 8 years.
Abortion is still legal in Indiana, but lawmakers plan on banning it by the end of July.
"I'm going to tell you things, but they are not true."
It's a line Indiana-based OBGYN Dr. Katie McHugh uses right after she tells a patient they're pregnant, and before she shares factually inaccurate information about pregnancy and abortion.
Currently, Indiana doctors are required by law to tell anyone who asks for an abortion that a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks of pregnancy, which is medically inaccurate.
Though McHugh qualifies her legally-required speech with a warning that what's she's about to say is not fact, she says these legalities make it difficult for patients to believe her.
"When you can't trust the things your doctor is telling you, even if they clarify, 'These are the things that are not true. The rest of the things I will tell you are true,' it's difficult to know what you can believe, and what you shouldn't believe," McHugh said.
Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which places the issue of abortion access in the hands of state lawmakers, an increasing number of abortion bans are popping up around the country. In Indiana, abortion is still legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for medical emergencies.
Even without a ban, Indiana-based OBGYNs have found legal requirements, like ones that require a doctor give patients medical misinformation, a massive burden on their work, McHugh told Insider. Now that Indiana lawmakers are set to meet in mid-July for a special session where they'll likely ban abortion, McHugh, a lifelong Indiana resident, is considering how to do work that may soon be criminalized.
An OBGYN longs to give abortions in her home state, but fear of future arrests pushed her to get licensed elsewhere
As an abortion provider of eight years, McHugh has worked under various Indiana laws that require doctors to provide abortion-seekers misinformation and essentially commit medical malpractice.
Now, she's applying to practice medicine in nearby states like Illinois, where abortion-seekers in more restrictive states are already starting to come in large numbers.
McHugh said she feels a duty to her state's abortion-seeking patients and has no plans to move. Instead, she wants to help fellow Indiana residents get out-of-state abortions if she can no longer provide them in the state without being arrested.
"It is overwhelming," McHugh told Insider. "How do I balance the risk of taking care of the patient in front of me, as I'm obligated to do by my oath and by my moral compass, with all of the other patients in my career, my family, my freedom, and my autonomy to make a decision to prioritize myself and my wellbeing?"
McHugh said she also worries about the pregnant people who can't leave Indiana for an abortion because of professional, financial, or other burdens, and wants to make sure she's there to care for them.
"I just wish that I could do it in a way that my knowledge and training and morals would allow me to do," McHugh said.