Dozens of independent abortion clinics closed in 2023 post-Roe, study finds

Twenty-three ‘indie’ clinics closed this year, leaving over a dozen states without a brick-and-mortar clinic that provides abortions

Ava Sasani
Tue 5 Dec 2023

Dozens of independently owned reproductive health clinics shuttered in 2023, the year after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, according to a new report from the Abortion Care Network.

The group found that 23 independently owned clinics closed this year, on top of the 42 that shuttered in 2022, leaving over a dozen states, mainly in the American south and midwest, without a single brick-and-mortar clinic that provides abortion.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/05/us-abortion-clinics-close-after-roe-overturned

05.12.2023

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USA – Why an independent abortion clinic is suing Planned Parenthood

Melissa Jeltsen with photographs by Thalía Juárez
Tue 6 Jun 2023

In a sign of tensions within the abortion rights community, a Manhattan clinic alleges the reproductive health behemoth poached one of its doctors, bringing it to the ‘point of implosion’

Parkmed NYC, an independent abortion clinic on the east side of Manhattan, is located in a nondescript office building that also houses the Ecuadorian consulate. Five days a week, the clinic is flooded with patients, many of whom have traveled long distances by bus, train or plane to evade abortion bans in their home states.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/06/abortion-clinic-suing-planned-parenthood

06.06.2023

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For Decades, We’ve Helped Open Abortion Access. Here’s Where We’ll Go Post-‘Roe.’

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel of abortion care—we need to build on it.

Jun 2, 2022
National Network of Abortion Funds & Abortion Care Network

Abortion funds and independent abortion clinics are grateful for the outpouring of support in the wake of the devastating Supreme Court draft decision leak in early May. In a moment when discriminatory, racist, patriarchal systems are working hard to isolate us from each other and our collective power, so many of you know that turning to the people on the forefront of abortion access in each of our communities is an important way to fight back together.

Thank you for plugging in with your communities and each other, spreading the word that abortion is still legal no matter where you live in the United States, and comforting your loved ones with the knowledge that there are still avenues of support (including you).

Continued: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2022/06/02/for-decades-weve-helped-open-abortion-access-heres-where-well-go-post-roe/

Independent Abortion Clinics Are The Backbone of Reproductive Care in America

Non-Planned Parenthood providers are badly underfunded and under attack, and three in five patients are seeking abortions there.

By Caitlin Cruz
November 16, 2021

Ashley was pregnant and lived about an hour outside Wichita, Kansas. Workers at Trust Women in Kansas had gotten her as much funding for her abortion as possible, but she’d still have to shell out a couple hundred dollars herself. She kept cancelling appointments, and Rebecca Tong, now co-executive director of Trust Women in Oklahoma and Kansas, kept rescheduling her.

“We got to the very end of when we could see her, and I told her, ‘If we don’t see you at this appointment, we will not be able to see you at all, because of the arbitrary limits set in Kansas of 20 weeks,’” Tong told Jezebel.

Continued: https://jezebel.com/independent-abortion-clinics-are-the-backbone-of-reprod-1848067419

The Future of Abortion Care Depends on Independent Providers

Today, there are 34 percent fewer independent clinics across the country than there were in 2012. The threats independent clinics face are harsh—which is why now more than ever, they need our support to continue meeting this moment.

12/11/2020
by NIKKI MADSEN

The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for families and communities across the country, including my own. But when I reflect back on 2020, amid all of the heartache, a moment of absolute joy stands out.

In early March, just days before the nationwide cascade of shutdowns and uncertainty, I stood arm-in-arm outside the Supreme Court with reproductive health, rights and justice advocates as we cheered on the fierce clinic staff at Hope Medical Group for Women, the Louisiana-based independent abortion care provider at the center of this year’s Supreme Court abortion case. Like other independent clinics (indies) before them, Hope was fighting for all of us that day.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/12/11/independent-abortion-clinics-covid-19-abortion-care-network/

USA – Dramatic drop in abortion providers as states target clinics with restrictive laws

Dramatic drop in abortion providers as states target clinics with restrictive laws

By Kate Smith, CBS News
December 11, 2019

Nearly a third of all independent abortion providers have either closed or stopped providing the procedure in the past five years, according to a report from the Abortion Care Network. New state regulations are one reason: Many providers say they can't keep up with the cost of complying with them.

"Anti-abortion politicians have long used onerous restrictions to try and shut down independent abortion providers," said Nikki Madsen, executive director of the Abortion Care Network, a professional organization for independent clinics, or providers not affiliated with Planned Parenthood. "Since 2010, anti-abortion politicians have passed more than 400 laws that attempt to make it too expensive or logistically impossible for abortion clinics to operate."

Continued: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/states-target-abortion-clinics-with-restrictive-laws-leading-to-dramatic-drop-in-providers-2019-12-10/

11.12.2019

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USA – “I Am Honestly Scared to Death”: Small Abortion Clinics Are Fighting for Survival Over Trump’s New Abortion Rules

“I Am Honestly Scared to Death”: Small Abortion Clinics Are Fighting for Survival Over Trump’s New Abortion Rules
Independent abortion clinics' budgets were slashed after being driven from the only federal program dedicated to family planning.

by Carter Sherman
Sep 10 2019

After the Trump administration announced that providers who receive money from the nation’s only dedicated family planning program can’t refer people for abortions, Planned Parenthood made national headlines by leaving the program.

But while Planned Parenthood is anti-abortion activists’ biggest bogeyman, the bulk of American abortions are actually performed by small, independent abortion clinics. Those providers are also quietly leaving the Title X program — and without the name-brand recognition, political sway, or fundraising firepower of a national network, they’re fighting to keep their services cheap and available.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k37d/i-am-honestly-scared-to-death-small-abortion-clinics-are-fighting-for-survival-over-trumps-new-abortion-rules

USA – When the right to choose is under attack, abortion providers refuse to back down

When the right to choose is under attack, abortion providers refuse to back down

Nikki Madsen
March 08, 2019

March 10th is National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, when we honor the doctors who dedicate their careers to upholding reproductive freedom in spite of increasingly oppressive legislation. Here, Nikki Madsen, Executive Director of Abortion Care Network, uplifts the work of abortion providers at independent clinics, who are often the sole reason why there is any abortion access in several states.

The attacks on abortion care in the United States have reached unprecedented heights. Just this week, politicians in Missouri advanced an omnibus bill that will make abortion care virtually impossible in a state that only has one remaining provider. Eight states have introduced bills this year to ban abortion care before most women know they’re pregnant. And hateful, inflammatory rhetoric about people who have abortions and providers who care for them is on the rise. And yet, every day, independent abortion providers display unwavering courage and compassion in the face of these relentless attacks, refusing to give up on their patients or lessen their commitment to providing quality care to their communities.

Continued: https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/health-fitness/abortion-providers-refuse-to-back-down/

08.03.2019

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USA – On The Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade, I Remember My Grandmother’s Experience

On The Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade, I Remember My Grandmother's Experience

ByNikki Madsen
Jan 17, 2019

My grandmother was a strong Midwestern woman with a laugh that would fill the room. She escaped a violent childhood home and later raised five children after losing her husband in a car accident. She also had an abortion prior to 1973, the year when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion with the historic Roe v. Wade decision. Her abortion left her hospitalized in a place where the staff refused to care for her due to her abortion — with the exception of one nurse who saved her life. Although she died 12 years ago, I carry my grandmother’s experience with me every day in my work supporting independent abortion care providers, facilities which provide the compassionate quality care that my grandmother deserved but was unable to get because abortion was illegal in her home state of Minnesota and she couldn’t afford to travel.

Continued: https://www.elitedaily.com/p/on-the-anniversary-of-roe-v-wade-i-remember-my-grandmothers-experience-15831243

USA – 4 Independent Abortion Provider Staffers Open Up About Their Work & What Keeps Them Going

4 Independent Abortion Provider Staffers Open Up About Their Work & What Keeps Them Going

By Madhuri Sathish
Dec 17, 2018

Ever since Donald Trump assumed the presidency, the restrictions on abortion access have only been exacerbated. Many states have had to contend with abortion clinic closures, and conservative lawmakers continuously try to use religious exemptions, strict time limits, and financial threats to effectively make abortions impossible to access. But even as state legislatures attempt to crack down on abortion rights, independent abortion providers across the country tell Bustle that they have remained on the frontlines of reproductive justice work, despite the mounting challenges.

Continued: https://www.bustle.com/p/4-independent-abortion-provider-staffers-open-up-about-their-work-what-keeps-them-going-15525204