Twice as many abortion clinics closed this year compared to last, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
As of November, 42 independent clinics had closed this year, most of which were in the South and Midwest. That’s up from 20 in 2021, according to a Tuesday report from Abortion Care Network, an association of community-based abortion providers. Independent clinics provide 55% of abortion services nationwide.
The Supreme Court ruling has resulted in a wave of tighter abortion restrictions, including near-total bans in around a dozen states. While some clinics are still operating in those places, many have shut down. Others, like Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi provider at the center of the Supreme Court case, have made relocation plans.
There are currently 14 states that have no clinics providing abortion care, per ACN.
In the months immediately following the Supreme Court ruling, the number of legal abortions in the US fell 6%, according to the Society of Family Planning, an abortion and contraceptive advocacy and research group.
“When we lose clinics, we also lose access to a full spectrum of reproductive health care, including birth control, PrEP for HIV and gender affirming-treatment,” said ACN Deputy Director Erin Grant.
An analysis of two Texas health care systems published in July found that after the state implemented a six-week ban last year, patients with pregnancy complications were more likely to have serious maternal morbidity than those in states without similar bans.
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