Abortion refugees

It is estimated that more than 100,000 women in need of an abortion will be unable to get one as states rush to pass restrictive laws in the post-Roe/Wade America. The primary reason is that the cost of travelling to a state in which abortion is legal is prohibitive for many low-income and minority households, locking them into a continuing cycle of poverty. For those who can afford to make the trip, workarounds are quickly springing up to meet the need.

Mexico.  At the Profem Tijuana clinic, within walking distance of the international border,  the the share of patients from the U.S. rose from 25% to 50% between May and July, 2022.          

Gulf Coast. Abort Offshore is a floating clinic that performs legal abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in federal waters.  It draws patients from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.  The shore-to-shore trip – including procedure – takes about 5 hours.

Illinois.  Hope Clinic is expanding services at its Granite City, IL., location, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis, MO.

Maryland.  Partners in Abortion Care is opening a clinic in College Park, MD.  Located within 40 miles of three major airports and interstate highways, it is convenient for patients from West Virginia and Ohio.  Beginning in July, nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants were empowered to perform abortions in Maryland.

Minnesota.  An abortion clinic in Duluth, MN. Has long provided services to patients from adjacent states, but expects more traffic in the wake of a recent court ruling which expanded abortion access. The ruling ended a mandatory 24-hour waiting period, two-parent consent for minors and a requirement that physicians discuss medical risks and alternatives to abortion.  It also tossed out requirements that only doctors could provide abortion care, and that abortions after the first trimester had to take place in a hospital.

New Mexico.   Governor Michelle Lujan recently signed an executive order to build an abortion clinic in Las Cruces, about 45 miles from its Texas border.

Oregon.  Planned Parenthood in Willamette, OR is bracing for an influx of patients from neighboring Idaho. Oregon’s legislature has approved a $15 million expenditures to establish the Oregon Reproductive Health Equity Fund to aid women in need of abortions.

Planned Parenthood maintains a continuously updated report on the legal status of abortion state-by-state.

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