June 27, 2022

New Abortion Clinics Are Opening Near Borders and Airports to Stretch Access as Far as It Will Go

Many people already have to travel to get an abortion, due to state-level restrictions and dwindling numbers of clinics.

In 2017, 74% of abortion patients in Wyoming, 57% in South Carolina, and 56% in Missouri left their home state to get care, one study found.

But if the Supreme Court’s draft decision is similar to the final one, that inconvenience is about to affect a lot more people. Across swaths of the South, Midwest, and Southwest, people would have to travel out of state or find a way to access abortion pills if they needed to end a pregnancy. Clinics in “abortion islands” like Illinois—states with strong abortion protections in place, but surrounded by those likely to ban it—are already bracing for a post-Roe onslaught of new patients.

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The cost of an abortion, either through pills or a procedure, can range from hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000. If someone also has to travel for that care, they must shoulder the financial and logistical costs of transportation, lodging, missed work, and child care. Local abortion funds have long provided practical support like money for travel and assistance finding child care. (At Partners in Abortion Care, a local investor is considering buying an apartment near the clinic to use as an “abortion Airbnb,” Nuzzo says, where people could stay for free before and after their procedures.)
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Jennifer Pepper, executive director at CHOICES Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, is also planning to open a clinic in a new state if and when hers is forced to stop offering abortion care. (Tennessee has a “trigger law” in place, which would ban most abortions within a month of Roe being overturned.) She and her team found a space in Carbondale, a city in southern Illinois about a two-hour drive from St. Louis and a three-hour drive from both Memphis and Nashville. They’re preparing to open in August.

CHOICES provided 3,900 abortions in its Memphis clinic last year and expects to exceed that number in Illinois. But they can’t serve everyone. If Roe is overturned, multiple Tennessee clinics would have to stop offering abortion services, and there’s no way CHOICES could absorb all of those patients with one new facility. “It’s just a math problem that doesn’t work out,” Pepper says. Modeling that Myers conducted for TIME suggests the Carbondale facility could reduce travel requirements for about 3 million women, mostly in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Other advocates are eyeing Illinois, too. Dr. Douglas Laube, an abortion provider in Wisconsin, told local news outlets that he is thinking of opening a new clinic just over the state border. Planned Parenthood is also expanding operations in Illinois, as the Washington Post has reported.

https://time.com/6185519/abortion-clinics-travel-state-borders/

June 27, 2022

new owners of Illinois abortion clinic prepare to expand to serve women from other states

New owners of Metro East abortion clinic prepare to expand as Supreme Court decision looms


Three longtime pro-choice advocates took over operations this month of the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City. The new owners include a 40-year veteran of abortion advocacy, an expert in maternal and child health, and an executive who has spent decades trying to make abortions more accessible in the Midwest.

The sale comes at a crucial moment for the Hope Clinic. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, the procedures would be further restricted in many states, and more patients would likely travel to Illinois for care. The Hope Clinic and the Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights together may see thousands of additional patients each year if the court issues such a decision.

Julie Burkhart, one of the new co-owners, said on Tuesday that the facility is already seeing higher volumes of patients, and is looking at how to increase capacity.

“We are working on ramping up now,” Burkhart said. “We want to be as prepared as we can be.”

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/new-owners-of-metro-east-abortion-clinic-prepare-to-expand-as-supreme-court-decision-looms/article_2af24932-8b78-5a09-87ca-ca5684bd721a.html

Burkhart’s career in the movement began with a summer job during college at the front desk of the Wichita Women’s Center in Wichita, Kansas. She worked there in 1991 during the “Summer of Mercy,” when anti-abortion protesters flooded into the city by the thousands.
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Burkhart said her work has been motivated by strongly held beliefs that people must have agency over their bodies.

“If we don’t let people decide when they’re going to become a parent, if they’re going to become a parent, how big their family might be ... I just feel very deeply that that person, then, does not have complete freedom,” Burkhart said. “People can be trusted with these decisions.”

June 27, 2022

Dozens of Providers in Red States Move to Prescribe Abortion Pills (maybe over state lines)

Dozens of Providers in Red States Move to Prescribe Abortion Pills

Since Friday, more than 100 clinicians have come forward to seek help in offering medication abortion to patients, according to the abortion-rights advocacy group Plan C.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has triggered abortion bans in more than 13 states, the abortion-rights advocacy group Plan C says it has seen a surge in the number of primary care providers asking how they can begin offering medication abortion to patients in their respective states. Some may choose to do so over state lines.

“There’s been an overwhelming amount of interest,” said Christie Pitney, a certified nurse midwife who coordinates Plan C’s efforts to increase the number of clinicians offering telehealth abortions by guiding them through the various steps required to do so. According to Pitney, who herself began providing telehealth abortions in 2021 through her private practice Forward Midwifery, Plan C has gotten 20 requests for help since May, when a leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion was published by Politico. Since Friday, more than 100 more clinicians have come forward, she said, including dozens from states that have already banned abortion or are poised to do so over the next several weeks.

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Doctors, midwives, advance practice nurses and physician assistants are all able to order and prescribe mifepristone. When a request comes in, Pitney connects the provider with one of several telemedicine start-ups—groups like Hey Jane, Choix, Just the Pill, or Abortion on Demand—that mail abortion drugs to patients after a consultation via telemedicine. For those interested in setting up their own telemedicine practice, Pitney provides information about registering with GenBioPro, and points providers to an online “toolkit” published by a physician-led team at the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine. A step-by-step guide to registering and prescribing mifepristone and misoprostol, the document gets regularly updated with new clinic protocols and regulations.

“The separation of abortion from general primary care has made it an easy target for those who wish to ban abortions,” said Dr. Emily Godfrey, an associate professor in the department of family medicine at UW, who leads the Access, Delivered initiative, a partnership between Plan C and UW aimed at creating new channels of abortion access in the U.S.

“As primary care providers and other clinicians step up to protect the health and wellness of patients, the U.S. public may come to realize that first trimester abortion care belongs in primary care along with other reproductive health services and not just in stand-alone, independent abortion clinics.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dozens-of-providers-in-red-states-move-to-prescribe-abortion-pills

June 27, 2022

North Dakota abortion clinic moving to Minnesota. Mississippi clinic moving to New Mexico

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/25/us/north-dakota-abortion-clinic-moving-minnesota/index.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/mississippi-abortion-clinic-plans-to-move-to-new-mexico/

June 27, 2022

With access in peril, 2 women open a later-abortion clinic in Maryland

Diane Horvath leaned across the table to read the latest list off her phone: operating room lights, waiting room furniture and a storage closet. An abortion clinic closing in Georgia offered to sell all of it, cheap.

Horvath, a physician, and Morgan Nuzzo, a certified nurse-midwife, are scrambling to amass secondhand medical equipment, raise money, hire staff and complete renovations in preparation to open a clinic in College Park, Md.

In the seven weeks since a leaked draft opinion showed the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling legalizing abortion nationwide, Horvath and Nuzzo have been part of a nationwide reshuffling of providers, equipment and even buildings. The National Abortion Federation created an online members-only marketplace where buyers and sellers can connect.

“We know patients are going to have to leave the South to come up to Maryland, and maybe North Carolina, maybe Virginia,” Horvath said. “We are going to physically transport abortion care from the South to up here. We know patients are going to be relocating, so we’re actually relocating practices basically, which is …”

“Bittersweet,” Nuzzo interjected.

The clinic will be one of a handful of facilities in the country that prioritizes abortion later in pregnancy, a term that often refers to abortion after 21 weeks because of how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects data on abortions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).


https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jun/26/with-access-in-peril-2-women-open-a-later-abortion/

June 27, 2022

After Roe's fall, abortion opponents look to end rape and incest exemptions

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade on Friday, Wyoming’s trigger law abortion ban is set to go into effect. Under the law, nearly all abortions will be outlawed in the state, save for those involving pregnancies that were the product of rape or incest.

But Marti Halverson, a former state lawmaker and president of Right to Life Wyoming, said the next step is to remove some of those exceptions. Fresh off the heels of a historic triumph, abortion opponents in Wyoming are already gearing up to add even more restrictions to the practice.

This spring, lawmakers passed the trigger bill with the knowledge that an increasingly right-leaning Supreme Court was poised to overturn the landmark decision. Sponsored by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, R-Cody, the law is expected to end most abortions in the state within the next 35 days.


“In Wyoming we are thrilled, we are so grateful to Representative Rodriguez-Williams for her 2022 House Bill 92, the trigger bill, and our next job is to delete the rape and incest exceptions, so that will be an issue on the campaign trail this summer,” Halverson said.

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“When the first victim of sexual assault gets prosecuted for terminating her pregnancy, they’re going to have to look at their constituents in the face and say, ‘Reelect me,’ and that’s going to be an entire different universe,” Semerad said.

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https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/after-roes-fall-abortion-opponents-look-to-end-rape-and-incest-exemptions/article_9869fc84-f3db-11ec-a167-1b55d91a138e.html

June 27, 2022

Most Americans think Supreme Court will limit birth control and same-sex marriage

Most Americans fear Supreme Court will limit birth control and same-sex marriage after overturning Roe, poll shows:

Arkansas GOP governor stands by his abortion ban without rape or incest exceptions but vows contraception is 'not going to be touched'

A new poll from CBS News shows more than eight in 10 Americans believe things in the US are going 'badly' in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision

On Friday the high court issued a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade abortion rights

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson defended his state's abortion ban on Meet the Press even when asked about a hypothetical 13-year-old incest victim

A combined 64% of people said abortion should be legal in all or most cases

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10954573/Americans-fear-Supreme-Court-limiting-birth-control-sex-marriage-overturning-Roe-Poll.html

Fifty-seven percent of respondents to a new CBS News poll said it was 'likely' that the case legalizing same-sex marriage will now be overturned and fifty-five percent said the body could limit contraception.

June 26, 2022

abortion is safe in blue states. Blue state folks are marching in outrage for red staters basically

Blue states will be funding / arranging abortion access for red staters basically.

how does that serve the cause? Are we preventing red state women from knowing the true cost of eliminating Roe V Wade?

is my though process off here?

June 26, 2022

Census: US sees ...decline in the white population for first time in history, decreased 9% in 10 yrs

article from august 2021. in my opinion, demographic changes are the foundation for the current Republican party, evangelical movement, MAGA stuff ... Trump said it out loud when he based his campaign on immigration.
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Census: US sees .... decline in the white population for first time in history

The United States experienced unprecedented multiracial population growth and a decline in the white population for the first time in the nation’s history, according to U.S. Census officials, who released data Thursday revealing the most sweeping picture of America’s racial and ethnic makeup in a decade.

“These changes reveal that the US population is much more multiracial, and more racially and ethnically diverse, than what we measured in the past,” said Nicholas Jones, the director of race, ethnicity, research and outreach for the Census Bureau's population division.

The white, non-Hispanic population, without another race, decreased by 8.6% since 2010, according to the new data from the 2020 census. The U.S. is now 57.8% white, 18.7% Hispanic, 12.4% Black and 6% Asian.

Some of those changes, Jones said, can be attributed to improvements to the survey. The white, non-Hispanic population is still the largest racial group in the U.S.

Nevertheless, the release bolstered expert predictions that the United States is becoming a more diverse nation, with continued expansion of the Hispanic, Black and Asian American populations and growing numbers of multiracial residents – only a fraction in past surveys.

“​​The diversity that we're seeing in this country is going to be much more pronounced,” said William Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/08/12/how-2020-census-change-how-we-look-america-what-expect/5493043001/

June 26, 2022

"Abortion is, in many ways, too big to fail." Texas may make it illegal to travel for abortion

To really reduce abortion, these red states have to stop abortion pills through the mail AND stop women from traveling for abortion. Women are going to be shocked at the new laws that will be put on their freedom.
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With the end of Roe, Texans will have to travel long distances for legal abortions
New Mexico is expected to become a “haven state” where abortion remains legal and largely accessible. That state has six abortion clinics and is gearing up for an influx of patients. The nearest clinic there is a 12-hour drive from Houston and a 10-hour drive from Dallas.

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Texas has already gotten a window into what’s to come; the state has been operating under one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans since Sept. 1.

Data gleaned from the early months under Texas’ existing abortion restrictions, as well as from countries that have banned abortion, show that many, though not all, pregnant patients seeking abortions will find ways to terminate their pregnancies.

“It has always been the case that people find ways to end pregnancies when they need to do so, and we’re so fortunate now that the methods are safer than they’ve ever been in human history,” said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel with reproductive legal advocacy group If/When/How. “Abortion is, in many ways, too big to fail.”

But Diaz-Tello and other advocates warn that inequality of abortion access will only be exacerbated by these wholesale bans. And notably, some Texas lawmakers have signaled a desire to push legislation that would make it illegal for people to travel out of state to get the procedure.

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AidAccess, an international nonprofit, provides Texans with the medication through the mail, despite state laws that prohibit them from doing so. While the federal government has made efforts to crack down on AidAccess, they continue to operate openly.

Demand for abortion-inducing medication surges in the wake of increased restrictions, according to University of Texas researcher Abigail Aiken. After Texas passed its law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, Aiken found that requests to AidAccess increased by more than 1000%.

“And of course, this time, it will not just be Texas,” Aiken said. “When we have these geographical blocks of the country that are basically abortion ban zones, that’s going to increase the need for self-management.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/23/supreme-court-abortion-roe-dobbs-texas/