By Lilly Deljoo, MSFC chapter leader the University of Louisville.

Packing up the last of my belongings in my Westwood apartment was a bittersweet moment. I was thrilled to return to my hometown of Louisville, KY, to attend medical school and follow my dream of becoming an obstetrician and gynecologist. Yet, my heart ached for everything I was leaving behind: sunsets on the beach, cherished friendships, an apartment full of memories, and—most gut-wrenching of all—my sense of freedom and autonomy.
In Los Angeles, I lived in a state that upheld full reproductive freedom and the right to bodily autonomy. I was fortunate to reside in a “free state” in the aftermath of the Dobbs ruling—a landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. This decision ended the federal constitutional right to abortion and left the issue to individual states…