Today, startling new data is depicting how abortion access is dwindling nationwide. The Abortion Care Network (ACN) just released the 2021 Communities Need Clinics report, and it’s a stark reminder about how important it is for communities to support independent abortion clinics like ours.
Independent clinics provide 3 out of every 5 abortions in the U.S. each year and provide the majority of abortions after the first trimester. They also operate the majority of clinics in states that are most politically hostile to abortion care, just like the clinics managed by Whole Woman’s Health (WWH).
It’s clear that meaningful abortion care in the U.S. depends on independent abortion providers like WWH and WWHA. Yet we’ve had to adapt and innovate to provide care through a global pandemic and unprecedented political attacks. In 2021 alone, states have enacted 106 abortion restrictions and bans. Hundreds of clinics have been forced to close in the last 10 years and continue to close at an alarming rate. With 20 closures this year alone, the fight to protect abortion access is more urgent than ever before.
WWHA is committed to keeping our doors open, and we’ve built the infrastructure to weather these storms – for now. But this report shows just how much we’re up against.
We are still being forced to comply with Texas Senate Bill 8, turning away hundreds of patients as we anxiously wait for the Supreme Court to hand down a decision from our November 1st hearing. Get a glimpse in this feature story about our Austin clinic from Cheddar News. What’s worse, in just 15 days, a case will be heard that directly challenges Roe v. Wade.
