EUGENE, Ore — Monday marked two years since the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections.
Since then, several states have significantly restricted abortion care.
Since 2022, Oregon experts say abortions statewide have increased about 40%.
In southwest Oregon, Planned Parenthood says patients seeking abortions have nearly doubled since the Dobbs ruling, with the vast majority traveling from Idaho.
Amy Handler, executive director of Planned Parenthood for Southwestern Oregon, says: “Before the Dobbs decision, we saw that 4 to 5 percent of our patients were pro-abortion, and now we are seeing that between 8 and 10 percent of our patients are in favor of abortion.” abortion services.”
Over the past two years, Idaho, Oregon’s closest neighbor with a near-total ban on abortion, has seen hundreds of residents travel to Oregon for abortion services.
Handler adds, “Idaho is the number one out-of-state patient we see right now. We’ve seen patients from Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina, but Idaho is the most common out-of-state patient.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 1 in 10 abortion patients in Oregon last year traveled from out of state, 400 of whom were from Idaho; most required urgent or emergency care.
Dr. Alyssa Colwill, OHSU OB-GYN, says:
“For people who receive obstetric care in Idaho, we are the closest state that can provide emergency services. Before the Dobbs decision, it was rare for someone from Idaho to be transferred to Oregon.”
Dr. Colwill says that in states with near-total abortion bans, when people face unexpected emergencies during pregnancy, abortion care is often the safest way to save a person’s life… but it’s a challenge obtaining authorization for abortions when there are no exceptions and providers risk losing their license.
“This has really made caring for those people much riskier because they have to travel, sometimes being flown to the nearest hospital that offers abortions in a state that is legal,” adds Dr. Colwill.
Planned Parenthood says 1 in 4 women will have an abortion in their lifetime.
The recent leak of a Supreme Court opinion, once the official ruling is released, will allow healthcare providers to stabilize patients by performing emergency abortion care in Idaho, despite the state’s abortion restrictions and punishments for serious crimes for doctors.
Despite this development, advocates are preparing for a prolonged fight for abortion protections across the country.
Keynote USA
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