Communities Need Clinics: Press Kit 2024

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Abortion Care Network released its eighth annual “Communities Need Clinics” report, sharing critical data about independent abortion care providers in the current abortion care landscape. The report draws attention to the historic challenges these clinics face and how they have intensified following the Dobbs decision and offers an important snapshot of the current environment as we anticipate national anti-abortion restrictions in 2025.

Abortion bans, harassment from extremist groups, and the financial challenges of operating independent clinics make it difficult to retain staff and keep clinics open. Independent clinics provide the majority of abortion care in the United States – particularly later in pregnancy and in the most hostile regions of the country — all without adequate resources. 

Key findings in the report:

• Independent abortion clinics provide the majority of abortion care nationwide (approximately 58% of abortions happen at indies).
• Entire regions depend on indies for abortion care: the majority of abortion clinics in hostile states (over 60%) are independent.
• Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022: 
  • Fourteen states have abortion bans sweeping enough to force all the clinics in those states to close or stop providing abortions;
  • At least 76 independent clinics have been forced to close or stop offering abortion care;
  • 70% of the indie clinics forced to close or stop providing abortions since Roe was overturned were in the south or midwest U.S.
• Access to later abortion depends on independent clinics. Indies make up the majority of clinics providing care in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

The Communities Need Clinics report provides context for the current landscape of abortion care in the U.S. and includes a discussion of the hostile environment in which abortion providers are working – including: 

• Extremist violence, vandalism, blockades, and harassment;
• Threats of criminalization from the legal system;
• the chilling effect of anti-abortion extremism on the current and future provider workforce
• And a lack of resources deep enough to impact patient access and the abortion care workforce.

The full report is available here.

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