Blood on Our Hands
Characters: 
Woman1: Early 30’s.
Woman2: 17 years old.
Woman3: Mid 40’s.
Woman4: 24 years old.
Woman5: Mid 40’s.
Daughter: 12 years old.
Note: The actors double as Clerk, Protester, Doctor, Therapist, Nurse, and Reporter.

Lights up on five women, each in her own separate scene. WOMAN1 straightens her posture, about to give herself a pep talk in her mirror. WOMAN2 prays privately. WOMAN3 talks on the phone while driving. WOMAN4 frantically scrolls through her phone calendar, holding a pregnancy test in her bathroom. WOMAN5 carefully massages her lower abdomen; she is in pain. The sound of a clock ticking becomes louder on top of the overlapping voices of the women. 
Suddenly, the stage goes silent as the women continue to pantomime their actions. A spotlight shines on each woman as she speaks.

Woman1 (mumbling): It’ll be tough, but I’ll be okay. I’m lucky to-- 

WOMAN1 drops the ring she was fidgeting with. Clang, clang, clang. She quickly goes to pick it up.

Woman2: And please give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive our sinners. Um… (forgetting the words) Please, uh…

Woman3: Don’t forget the Pirate’s Booty for Charlotte’s soccer team. Oh! We also need Tide Pods. Make sure you get those.

Woman4: May 9th? F*ck.

WOMAN5 grabs her stomach and doubles over, wailing in pain. 

Woman5: AHHHHHH!!

The sound of the ticking getting louder until finally, ding! All the women except WOMAN3 and WOMAN5 look down to check their results. WOMAN3 carries on with her driving and WOMAN5 clutches her stomach.

ALL (except Woman3 and Woman5): Sh*t!

All exit except for Woman3, still on the phone.

WOMAN3: Love you. Okay, g’bye.

WOMAN3 hangs up. Lights down.

Lights rise on Woman3 and Clerk at a women’s health clinic.

Woman3: Hello, my name is--

Clerk: Ma’am, I am so sorry. I’m not sure if you heard the news, but the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was just 15 minutes ago.

Woman3: I have an appointment for 9:15. I booked it a week and a half--

Clerk: I’m sorry, but unfortunately, we can’t honor any appointments, today or in the foreseeable future. 

Woman3: No, I have to get this, please please please. I’ll pay extra.

Clerk: It’s not about the money. It’s against the law now.

CLERK hands Woman3 a pamphlet.

Clerk: Here, this has information on places you can order--

Woman3: But I have an ectopic pregnancy. I thought that abortion pills don’t end-- can I still get an abortion? I need it.

Clerk: We can’t. I’m really sorry. You’re right, abortion pills do not end ectopic pregnancies, ma’am. I’m so sorry. You will unfortunately have to travel to another state, to New Mexico or Colorado. 

WOMAN3 opens her phone, checking dates and texting. WOMAN2 enters.

Woman2 (flustered): Um, excuse me, sorry. I’m, uh, just-- I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to do. Do I just give you my name?

Clerk: I am so sorry, but the Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade.

Woman2: What? What do I do then? I have to-- 

Clerk: This has some information on how to order mifepristone and misoprostol, the abortion pills. Do you have a place where you can safely receive mail? 

Woman2: I don’t. My parents. Is there anything else you can do?

Clerk: I really wish there was. Are you under 18? 

Woman2: Yes.

Clerk: You could also travel to another state that allows minors to get abortions without parental consent. Maryland and Delaware both waive parental consent under some conditions. But a lot more states require only parental notification. Colorado would be the closest option. Do you have a way to get there?

Woman2: No.

Woman3 Sorry to interrupt, do you know of-- I think it’s called the National Network of Abortion something? I think you can contact them if you need help with money.

Clerk: Yes, the National Network of Abortion Funds and Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project. Those are--

Woman2: Thanks. I saw that on TikTok, but I’m not sure if I can get away with being gone. 

Clerk: Have you had an ultrasound? 

Woman2: No, but I missed a period. Can I do that here?

Clerk: You have an appointment, right? 

Woman2: Yes.

Clerk: Okay, sit tight.

CLERK exits.

Woman3: Is everything alright at home, hon?

Woman2: Until they find out...

Woman3: I’m so sorry. Let me give you my number. I can try to help you get the pills.

Woman2: Thank you so much. That actually means the world.

Woman3: No one has to know and the pills are totally safe. And you can reach out for anything else you need. I have a daughter about to start high school, and I can’t imagine… 

Woman2: Are you gonna take those pills, too, if you don’t mind my asking?

Woman3: The pills won’t work for me. I have an ectopic pregnancy, so the fetus is growing in one of my tubes. I need a surgical abortion. 

Woman2: Oh my god, are you okay? Does it hurt?

Woman3: Don’t worry about me. I can travel. I’m early, thankfully, and maybe the doctor will be able to see me. Take it easy, okay? Be good to yourself.

WOMAN3 gives her a much-needed hug. CLERK rushes back in.

Clerk: Okay, the doctor can see you now. (To WOMAN3) I’m so sorry, but we can’t help you.

CLERK exits and WOMAN2 follows. WOMAN3 exits frantically. 
WOMAN4 enters pushing a shopping cart groggily, now at a grocery store. She walks through the aisles. The sound of a baby crying loudly persists.

Woman4: A good reminder to stay on birth control. (To someone offstage) Excuse me, where can I find frozen foods, like frozen pizza? Thank you.

WOMAN4 walks offstage. WOMAN1 enters holding an electric razor in her bathroom.

Woman1: It’s just hair. 

WOMAN1 begins to give herself a pixie cut. She looks toward the audience, unable to recognize herself.

Woman1: Still me.

WOMAN1 exits. WOMAN2 enters, dumbfounded and terrified outside the clinic. PROTESTER enters.

Protester: Hey, so I really appreciate you coming out so early, but we can go home. We won!

Woman2: How’d you know I’d be here? We don’t start for another--

Protester: There’s usually someone here by 9 so I just come. You’re up early today. I could never get my kids out of bed for this.

Woman2: Oh… 

Protester: Are you alright?

Woman2: Yeah, I just… I don’t know if it should be so severe. What if a woman is raped?
 
Protester: Oh honey, thankfully, rape is rare. And barely any women get pregnant from it and if they do, they can take the morning after pill.

Woman2: Oh, I didn’t think about that... But what about someone who’s having a baby, but her life’s in danger?

Protester: If she’s going to die, then yes. Only in that case, though. Otherwise, it's just killing your baby because you’re irresponsible.

Woman2: I guess…

Lights off PROTESTER and WOMAN2. Lights on WOMAN1 in a hospital gown with DOCTOR on a separate part of the stage.

Doctor: Yes, you are correct. Unfortunately, delaying chemo will significantly decrease your survival chances. 

Woman1: But I can’t get an abortion?

Doctor: It’s complicated. Chemo seems to be safe in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, but not the first trimester. You will have to wait about two months. However, every month delayed in cancer treatment can raise risk of fatality by up to 10% and-- 

Woman1: Can’t I terminate my pregnancy? Since it threatens my life?

Doctor: Well, the law is unclear. The district attorney says he’ll take all cases to court, so you’ll most likely have a hard time finding a doctor willing to--

Woman1: So, they’re just gonna let me die? What do I do? What can I do?

Doctor: Some people have cases where carrying the fetus to term is without a doubt deadly. Not you. Your case is more ambiguous. I know someone in Colorado, though. She’ll help you, but it’s Denver.

Lights on WOMAN4 as she enters DOCTOR’S waiting room. 

Woman1: Thank you. I’ll call right away, as soon as I get back to my car.

WOMAN1 exits.

Doctor: Sorry about your wait. Come on in. 

Woman4: Oh my god, don’t worry. I just got here anyway. Everything right now is just… hectic. Yeah, so, I’m on the pill, but I missed a couple days when I moved. I just got a positive pregnancy test. These don’t hurt, right?

WOMAN4 lays down.

Doctor: Nope, no pain. Just a little push on your abdomen. You’ll be done in less than 30 minutes. 

Woman4: So what exactly are the laws now?

Doctor: The trigger bans were enacted this morning.

Woman4: Oh sh*t, what about Colorado’s? 

Doctor: No change yet.

Woman4: Good to know… thanks.

The ultrasound continues. Lights fade. Lights rise on WOMAN2 on a different part of the stage. She’s in a living room, tearfully talking to her parents who are unseen by the audience.

Woman2: What about college-- becoming a lawyer or-- I still want to do all that-- What if I don’t love her the way a mother should? See, you don’t even-- I’m trying to do the right thing! Can’t you just listen?! Are you guys going to even help me raise her?

WOMAN2 exits. Lights rise on WOMAN4 and DOCTOR. Lights also rise as WOMAN5 and THERAPIST enter. Separate split scene.

Woman5: It had no cardiac activity. 
     

     Woman4: I didn’t know how strict-- what are women gonna do?

Woman5: My bathroom looked like… a crime scene. 

     Woman4: I’m lucky, I guess.

Woman5: It can’t even live! How is that pro-life? 

     Woman4: If I need it, my parents can help raise it.
 
Woman5: It hurts to walk sometimes. I can’t do this, not for months.

        Woman4: If I’m not keeping it, I have options.

Woman5: Denver is at least a two day trip, right? 

     Woman4: Oh god, how am I going to explain all this to my boyfriend? 

Woman5: Nobody ever tells you how difficult this is to do. 

     Woman4: I haven’t even told him anything yet. 
 
Woman5: Nobody talks about this stuff, period. And doing it alone…

     Woman4: What if he wants me to keep it?
 
Women5: I don’t have a choice.

     Woman4: F*ck, I’m not even sure I know what I want to do.
 
Woman5: I need to get to Denver.

     Woman4: I don’t want to take a spot from someone who actually needs an abortion to save her life.
 
Woman5: I don’t know how I’m going to do this.

     Woman4: I’m at the age where people are supposed to have their sh*t together. 
 
Woman5: I missed it. I’m too old to be a mother.

     Woman4: I have friends starting to have kids.
 
Woman5: I’ve tried for five years.

     Woman4: But I need to know what I’m getting myself into before I do anything.
 
Woman5: And I already lost 13 years to Derek.

     Woman4: An 18 year commitment to a mini-human that’ll emerge from my vagina...
 
Woman5: He’s been gone for a while now, but still, I’m not getting any younger. 

     Woman4: People are already asking me when I’ll have kids…
 
Woman5: It only gets harder and harder to have kids, anyway. 

     Woman4: And we’re still paying off our student debt… and adding to it.
 
Woman5: But my mom had me when she was 43!

     Woman4: Do I sound selfish?
 
Woman5: I can’t keep doing this to myself.

     Woman4: Tons of families would love to have a child.
 
Woman5: And now, I can’t even get a clump of cells removed.

     Doctor: So you are pregnant. Seven weeks. Can you see? That’s the head.

     Woman4: Oh my.
 
Women5: Without kids, I guess I feel like less of a woman.

Therapist: Is that what you really believe defines womanhood?

Woman5: I know. In my head, I know it doesn’t, but still.

THERAPIST and DOCTOR exit. The boundary between WOMAN5 and WOMAN4 dissolves.

Woman4 (To WOMAN5): I can’t handle that responsibility right now. I was drunk last weekend! I don’t know. Am I making the right decision? 

WOMAN5 goes to hug WOMAN4. 

Woman5: You don't have to explain yourself to anyone. Only you know what’s best for you. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

WOMAN4 and WOMAN5 exit together, empowered.
Lights rise on WOMAN1 and WOMAN4 in a waiting room in Denver.

Woman4: It’s going to be okay.

Woman1: Hope so. I have chemo bills and my boss wouldn’t let these be sick days. 

Woman4: I’m so sorry. 

Woman1: I’ll be fine.

Woman4: Are you on Facebook? I found this group, they give good advice. There’s all these women, one of them might be in a similar situation. Maybe they can help.

Lights off WOMAN1 and WOMAN4. 
On another part of the stage, lights rise on WOMAN3 in a light jacket, at her daughter’s high school for a parent-teacher conference.

Woman3: Your health curriculum needs to teach consent. A lot of kids went to the Halloween parties last weekend and I heard from my ninth grade daughter some really awful things. This world already isn’t safe for women!

Lights off WOMAN3. 
On another part of the stage, lights rise on WOMAN1 in a winter coat. She’s got the mic and addresses the crowd.

Woman1: Young women aren’t being supported. Suicide rates in young women are going up! This holiday season, it’s gonna get much worse. And what’s our governor doing about it?

Lights off WOMAN1. 
Spotlight on WOMAN5 also in a winter coat, crossing stage with a sign reading “I can’t believe I’m still protesting this sh*t.”

Woman5 (chanting): Twenty twenty-three! Make abortion free! Twenty twenty-three! Make abortion free! 

Lights off Woman5. 
Lights rise on WOMAN3 being interviewed by REPORTER, who stands with her camera on a tripod.

Woman3: That argument doesn’t make sense because a fetus is fully dependent on its mother’s body. So why is the government telling us what we can and can’t do? Who are you to say when it's not your body? There’s a local high schooler who’s being forced to give birth, and everyone feels entitled to add their opinion. It’s no one’s business but hers.

Lights off WOMAN3 and REPORTER. 
Lights rise on WOMAN2 on a hospital bed. WOMAN2 is at the end of stage two of labor, having just delivered her baby, with DOCTOR at her feet and NURSE nearby. WOMAN2 holds her baby to her chest.

Woman2 (grimacing): It’s over, right? When do the contractions go away?

Doctor: You’re done with the hard part. You just have to deliver the placenta. 

Sounds of a baby crying loudly. DOCTOR pulls the umbilical cord to remove the placenta.

Woman2: What do I do?

Doctor (to Nurse): Can you take the baby?

NURSE takes the baby from WOMAN B and exits.

Doctor: Your placenta didn’t detach properly. I need to get the rest of it. You may feel some pain but I’ll be quick.

NURSE re-enters.

Nurse: Alana’s a gift from God.

Woman2: AHHHHH! That hurts! That hurts!

Doctor: Don’t overreact, you’ll tense. Just relax. Breathe.

A beat.

Doctor: You're bleeding a bit more than usual, so I’m going to rub your uterus a bit and give you medication to slow it down. (to Nurse) One dose of Oxytocin, please.

NURSE gives medication to WOMAN2.  WOMAN2 sways at her neck.

Woman2 (woozy): Am I still bleeding?

Doctor: These things happen, just trying to keep you safe. (to Nurse) Check her BP. 

NURSE tests WOMAN2’s blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer.

Nurse: 90 over 54. 

Doctor: Okay, just bring in the anesthesiologist.

NURSE exits.

Woman2: My head really hurts, really really hurts.

NURSE re-enters.

Nurse: He has a lot of people to see. He'll get here as soon as he can.

Doctor: Okay. You’re going to have to wait a bit. We’re going to give you an ice pack for the headache, and the medication should make you feel better soon.

Woman2: Can’t he come now? How long will it take?

NURSE puts an ice pack on WOMAN2’s head.

Nurse: He’s with other patients.

Doctor: I need to check on room 305. (to Nurse) Monitor her BP. (To Woman2) You’re going to be fine.

DOCTOR exits.

Woman2: My head! Get someone to make it stop! Everything hurts. Please please please!

NURSE checks WOMAN2’s blood pressure again. NURSE makes a face of concern and speaks with fear and urgency.

Nurse: I’m going to try to get the doctor to come back for you.

A beat. NURSE sighs. 

Woman2: When’s he coming? I don’t feel better!

Nurse: I said to prioritize you, so hopefully very soon.

Woman2: I need a doctor!

Nurse: We’re working on it. It’s gonna be okay.

Woman2: I'm gonna throw up. Where’s Alana? Is she okay?

WOMAN2 starts breathing shallowly and rapidly. The stage goes dark. 

Lights come up on a 12-year-old girl. A sweatshirt is folded over her arm.

DAUGHTER: I got my history paper back. 38.5 out of 40. Sorry it wasn’t an A+. Grandma said you always got A+’s. But at least I called some sexist boys out for always interrupting girls during debates, like you probably would’ve. Oh! Penelope invited me to her birthday party. I can’t wait. And the Women’s March last week was amazing. I helped organize a group of kids to go. Everybody loved my sign. It said, “If you cut my reproductive rights, can I cut yours?” People laughed. Someone took a picture! I really like DC. I think that’s where I want to live after law school. We’re gonna go back in a few weeks for nationals! Check out the sweatshirts they got us. 
(DAUGHTER opens the sweatshirt, revealing the name ALANA)
I’m gonna play libero! I just wish you could be here, Mom. I wish you could see me now. Would you be proud of me?

Blackout.
END OF PLAY.