January 18, 2013 - Apologies for any previous vagueness regarding what happened with Theresa's death, but yes, Jennifer performed the botched abortion that led to Theresa's death while Jennifer was still in med school which has obviously had a huge effect on Jennifer in the years since. I really didn't want to give this plotpoint away before it was revealed, and am somewhat surprised no one guessed it (or at least voiced such a guess to me), but one of the strongest arguments I have for the legalization of abortion is that when it's illegal women seek unqualified sources (such as med students -- sorry if this seems harsh on med students, they at least should know way more about medical procedures than me but they're not yet licensed doctors which could cause rookie mistakes such as whatever Jennifer did wrong so licensed doctors are ALWAYS preferable). Theresa's reasons for choosing Jennifer over a licensed physician aren't specifically mentioned but probably relate to a combination of shame over her rape and familial trust in Jen's abilities. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually clarify this. The point is that women don't stop getting abortions because they can't legally obtain them. Instead they find riskier solutions than what could (and should) be available to them.

Meanwhile, if anyone found out about Jennifer's actions (and it's probably one of the biggest stretches of realism that no one has figured this out, but hey, no one seemed to guess this was the case), she'd probably lose her medical license and likely face time in jail. Obviously she doesn't want anyone to know this, and her whole situation, guilt, and probably Theresa's death could have been avoided had Theresa felt more comfortable going to a place providing abortions legally (which is a big part of why I dislike any protest against abortion clinics), but fortunately Theresa's just a fictional character.

Back in the real world the last abortion clinic in Mississippi will likely be closing in the next month because of misguided political efforts. Studies have shown in the past that illegalizing abortion does little to change the abortion rates, such as those in Mississippi, but it may create many situations like the unfortunate events that happened to Theresa, which is an unfortunate consequence of the efforts to shut down Mississippi's last clinic providing abortions. I don't know what Mississippi can do, but I hope women in need in Mississippi are capable of crossing state lines to find the necessary care rather than resorting to something that could kill them.

-D