Ash Wallis knows she likely wouldn’t survive another pregnancy. Doctors said as much years earlier after she suffered a pulmonary embolism following a miscarriage, and got a second blood clot. Getting pregnant again isn’t a risk she is willing or able to take.

“I have two sons,” said Wallis. “I don’t want to leave them motherless.”

Wallis, 40, begged her health care provider to give her an IUD — her best chance at preventing another pregnancy and protecting her life. But her provider, the Department of Veterans Affairs, refused to cover the procedure. Despite three years of service in the Army, Wallis was forced to pay out of pocket at a local clinic.

“The risks of me getting pregnant and there being a significant health issue were too much risk for me to gamble on,” she said.

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