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Dozens of abortion clinics are shutting down — not just in states with bans, but in places where abortion remains fully legal, AP News reported June 17.
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, at least 105 clinics have closed nationwide, according to the report. Strikingly, 65 of those closures happened in states without new abortion limits.
While pro-abortion activists scramble to adapt, pro-life leaders see the trend as confirmation that the abortion industry is increasingly unsustainable. From waning donations to rising logistical costs, clinics are facing mounting challenges.
“We’re all collectively struggling,” Ramsie Monk, who works with clinics in West Virginia and Maryland, told AP.
Many abortion providers had hoped that a flood of post-Dobbs donations would sustain them. But those contributions are now drying up, AP reported. At the same time, the total cost associated with obtaining an abortion — including travel, lodging, meals, childcare, and clinic fees — has increased, adding further pressure to an already strained system.
The National Abortion Federation says the average abortion-related travel now costs more than $1,000 per person, and its hotline recently reduced how much help it can offer for clinic fees.
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Even in some of the most abortion-friendly states, clinics are beginning to acknowledge the mounting financial and logistical strain.
“I honestly don’t know if it’s a sustainable model,” said Mercedes Sanchez, who leads Cedar River Clinics in Washington.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, recently announced it would close eight clinics across Iowa and Minnesota. CEO Ruth Richardson attributed the closures to both declining abortion numbers in certain areas and tightening financial constraints.
Adding to the pressure on the industry, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year withheld $27.5 million in federal grants from several abortion providers, including at least 11 Planned Parenthood affiliates.
