Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, returning power to individual states to legislate on the issue of abortion, 76 independent abortion centres have shut or ceased to carry out abortions.
The Abortion Care Network (ACN), a national association of independent abortion providers, blamed the closures on new legal protections for the unborn, successful pro-life campaigns, and dwindling resources.
In June, falling donations caused the National Abortion Federation to cut its funding for abortions by 50 per cent, from $6 million to $3 million a month.
3 in 10 close since 2012
Of the 76 independent centre closures, 42 occurred in 2022, 23 in 2023, and eleven have been confirmed up to November 2024.
As of October 2024, ACN reports that the number of ‘brick and mortar’ independent clinics in the US stands at 363, a 29 percent fall from 2012 when there were 510.
According to the network, independent clinics carry out 58 per cent of all abortions in the US, substantially more than Planned Parenthood.
Most late abortions are provided by ACN members: 62 per cent of those after the first trimester, 88 per cent after 22 weeks, and 100 per cent of abortions from 26 weeks up to birth.
‘Sharp decrease’
Abortions in the US state of Indiana have plummeted 95 per cent since it strengthened protections for the unborn last year.
Indiana Department of Health reported that 41 abortions were performed between July and September, compared to 763 during the same period in 2023.
In Iowa, where abortions have dropped nearly 40 per cent since a ‘heartbeat’ law was introduced in July, pro-abortion think-tank the Guttmacher Institute has criticised such laws for causing a “sharp decrease” in abortions.
In November, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota voted down measures that would have liberalised abortion law.
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