Abortion clinic

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An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood.

Contents

Statistics

Canada

Netherlands

United States

Clinic access

Netherlands

An abortion clinic in Zwolle, Netherlands (2019) Stimezo Zwolle longshot.jpg
An abortion clinic in Zwolle, Netherlands (2019)

Abortion was criminalised in the Netherlands in 1911; nonetheless, a demand for terminating pregnancies remained, and an illegal abortion market grew. In 1962, about 25,000 abortions were performed in the entire country, all of them illegal and unsafe. 70 amateur abortionists were sentenced that year. [12] : 12:27  Illegal abortions were mostly performed with very risky and dangerous methods, which led to serious infections and internal bleeding. About 20 to 30 women died of complications each year, while many others were disabled for life and resigned to wheelchairs. [12] : 10:28 

In the late 1960s, the taboo on abortion was gradually broken in public discourse. More and more experts came to the point of view that abortions would happen anyway, whether or not the act was criminalised, and it was to conduct them safely for those women determined to end their pregnancy. [12] : 12:43  In the early 1970s, the first specialised abortion clinics emerged such as in Arnhem (Mildredhuis, 1971) and Heemstede (Bloemenhove Clinic, 1973). [12] : 16:01  By 1975, abortion clinic network Stimezo (an abbreviation of Stichting Medisch Verantwoorde Zwangerschapsonderbreking, "Medically Responsible Pregnancy Termination Foundation", set up in 1969) ran nine clinics throughout the country. [13] The government tolerated these illegal clinics until 1976, when Minister of Justice Dries van Agt tried to close the Bloemenhove Clinic, which was promptly occupied by hundreds of pro-choice activists from numerous women's rights organisations. After a two-week standoff, a judge ruled in favour of the clinic, and Van Agt had to back down from taking the clinic by force. It would take until 1984 when abortion was finally legalised after long-winded heated parliamentary debates, with high pressure from the supporters and opponents of reproductive rights. [13]

United States

Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz visit an abortion clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota on 14 March 2024 Vice President Harris and Govenor Tim Walz visit an abortion clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota on 14 March 2024 (cropped).jpg
Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz visit an abortion clinic in Saint Paul, Minnesota on 14 March 2024

Between 2011 and 2016, 162 abortion clinics in the United States closed or stopped offering abortions due largely to legislative regulations enacted by Republican state lawmakers. [14] These bills, referred to as TRAP laws (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider) implement medically unnecessary restrictions for clinics that will be difficult or impossible for providers to meet, therefore forcing clinics to close under the guise of increasing the safety of the procedure. [15]

Access to abortions is extremely limited, particularly in rural and conservative areas. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 31% of women in rural areas traveled over 100 miles in order to receive an abortion while another 43% traveled between 50–100 miles. [16] These numbers are only increasing as more clinics are forced to close. Between 2011 and 2016 the number of abortion clinics in Texas dropped from 40 to 19 [17] as a result of the state's House Bill 2, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in June 2016. [18] In 2023, The Satanic Temple launched a clinic named after Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Samuel Alito’s mother. [19]

Anti-abortion protests

Operation Save America members protest in front of an abortion clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, during their 2006 National Event in that city. Operation Save America jan.jpg
Operation Save America members protest in front of an abortion clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, during their 2006 National Event in that city.

Abortion clinics have frequently been the site of protests by anti-abortion activists. Protesters often engage in what is known as "sidewalk counseling", in which they warn people entering the clinic about risks of abortion, attempt to offer alternatives to abortion or show pictures of fetuses. [20] In 1985, 85% of abortion providers were experiencing either picketing, clinic blockades or invasion of the facility, [21] with 19% of providers receiving bomb threats and 16% were picketed at their homes. [22] In 2000 82% of facilities received protests with 61% receiving 20 or more pickets. [23]

The 2007 film Juno contains an example of such protest. The protagonist enters a clinic with the purpose of procuring an abortion, but sees a fellow student protesting outside the clinic who tells her that the fetus "has fingernails". [24] This causes Juno to change her mind about having an abortion, and she leaves the clinic, with her friend calling out to her, "God appreciates your miracle." [25]

Another tactic in which protestors film or photograph patients entering the clinic utilizes the societal stigma surrounding abortion and attempts to expose or shame women who are seeking the procedure. [26] Anti-abortion activists have also attempted to access abortion clinic medical records by breaking into dumpsters, proposing state legislation that would require clinics to provide information regarding their patients to the government and hacking online databases containing confidential patient information. [27]

In some countries, a buffer zone is enforced to prevent protesters from standing within a certain distance of the clinic entrance. [28] In the United States these buffer zones have been the subject of many lawsuits and legislative actions on both statewide and national levels. In 2014 the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a Massachusetts bill that had legalized a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics in the state in 2007. [29]

Anti-abortion violence

Abortion clinics have frequently been subject to anti-abortion violence. The New York Times cites over 100 clinic bombings and incidents of arson, over 300 invasions, and over 400 incidents of vandalism between 1978 and 1993, [30] and the National Abortion Federation, an organization of abortion providers, cites over 300 attempted or completed instances of bombing or arson, thousands of invasions and vandalism incidents, as well as other attacks, between 1977 and 2009. [31] According to the NAF, the first instance of arson at an abortion clinic took place in March 1976 in Oregon, and the first bombing was in Ohio in February 1978. [32]

In the United States, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act was passed in 1994 in response to acts of violence at clinics, which prohibits the use of force or obstruction to interfere with a person's attempt to obtain or provide reproductive health services, and the intentional damage of a reproductive health care facility such as an abortion clinic.

See also

Related Research Articles

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of all pregnancies. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion. The most common reasons women give for having an abortion are for birth-timing and limiting family size. Other reasons reported include maternal health, an inability to afford a child, domestic violence, lack of support, feeling they are too young, wishing to complete education or advance a career, and not being able or willing to raise a child conceived as a result of rape or incest.

The genetics and abortion issue is an extension of the abortion debate and the disability rights movement. Since the advent of forms of prenatal diagnosis, such as amniocentesis and ultrasound, it has become possible to detect the presence of congenital disorders in the fetus before birth. Specifically, disability-selective abortion is the abortion of fetuses that are found to have non-fatal mental or physical defects detected through prenatal testing. Many prenatal tests are now considered routine, such as testing for Down syndrome. Women who are discovered to be carrying fetuses with disabilities are often faced with the decision of whether to abort or to prepare to parent a child with disabilities.

Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed or unwanted at the time of conception, also known as unplanned pregnancies.

Both the Guttmacher Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regularly report abortion statistics in the United States. They use different methodologies, so they report somewhat different abortion rates, but they show similar trends. The Guttmacher Institute attempts to contact every abortion provider. The CDC relies on voluntary reporting of abortion data from the states and the District of Columbia. As of July 2022, the Guttmacher Institute had reported abortion data for the years 1973 through 2020 and the CDC had reported abortion data for the years 1970 through 2019.

A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical abortions are more common than surgical abortions in most places around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in Kenya</span>

Abortion in Kenya is prohibited with the exception of certain circumstances including danger to the life and health of the expectant mother, and rape. Unsafe abortions are a major cause of deaths and health complications for women in Kenya.

Abortion in Connecticut is legal up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant individual. A poll by the Pew Research Center found that 67 percent of adults in the state believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 72% of people from Connecticut said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Abortion in Hawaii is legal. 66% of adults in Hawaii said in a 2014 poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 79% of people from Hawaii said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Hawaii began allowing abortion care de jure in 1970, the first state to do so. State law enacted at that time stated said, "the State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female."

Abortion in New Jersey is legal at all stages of pregnancy. Abortion related laws were drafted by the legislature by the end of the 1900s. These laws would be addressed in court during the 1800s as they related to application in prosecutions of people who could become pregnant for having abortions. During the 1940s, hospitals created committees to approve abortion requests, with the goal of trying to reduce the number of abortions performed at them. Currently, there are no required waiting times, and parental consent is not required.

Abortion in New York is legal, although abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy require a physician's approval. Abortion was legalized up to the 24th week of pregnancy in New York in 1970, three years before it was legalized for the entire United States with the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Roe v. Wade was later overturned in 2022 by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019 in New York, further allows abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy if a pregnant individual's life or health is at risk, or if the fetus is not viable. However, since these exceptions are not defined by the law, and the law carries no criminal penalties for the pregnant individual, abortion is effectively legal throughout pregnancy.

As of July 1, 2023, abortion in North Carolina is currently illegal after 12 weeks of pregnancy. In the case of rape or incest, abortion is legal through the 20th week of pregnancy. In the case of a "life-limiting" fetal abnormality, abortion is legal through the 24th week of pregnancy. If the woman's life is determined by a qualified physician to be at risk, abortion is legal at any stage of pregnancy. North Carolina is destination for many out-of-state women seeking abortions, as most US Southern states have implemented laws banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy or near-total prohibitions on abortion.

Abortion in North Dakota is technically legal, but with no current providers. The state's sole abortion clinic, the Red River Women's Clinic, relocated to Minnesota.

Abortion in Oregon is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The Center for Reproductive Rights classifies Oregon as highly protective of abortion rights.

Abortion in Rhode Island is legal up to the point of fetal viability. On June 19, 2019, the legal right to abortion was codified into Rhode Island law by passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act.

Abortion in Utah is legally performed under a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's trigger law, which bans abortion. According to HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation. Abortion was banned following the Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. Utah State Legislation enacted SB 174 in May 2020, which, upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made inducing an abortion a second-degree felony. The law includes exceptions for pregnancies "caused by rape or incest," pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk, or "if two doctors say the fetus has a lethal defect." Rape and incest exceptions will only be viable if the crimes were previously reported to law enforcement officials.

Abortion in Vermont is legal at all stages of pregnancy. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll showed 70% of adults in the state believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases, the second highest percentage in the country. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 76% of Vermonters said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The state funds abortions deemed medically necessary for low-income women via Medicaid.

Abortion in the U.S. state of Virginia is legal up to the end of the second trimester of a pregnancy. Before the year 1900, abortion remained largely illegal in Virginia, reflecting a widespread trend in many U.S. states during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Abortion was viewed as a criminal act and subject to state laws that prohibited it. However, by 1950, Virginia introduced a legal therapeutic exception, allowing for abortion under specific circumstances, primarily when a woman's physical or mental health was at risk. Notably, the University of Virginia Hospital established a review board in 1950 responsible for evaluating and approving abortion requests, particularly those grounded in psychiatric reasons. This thorough approval process resulted in a significant decrease in the number of abortions performed at the hospital.

Abortion in New Hampshire is legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy as of January 1, 2022, when a new law went into effect. Prior to this, the gestational limit was unclear. Abortion was criminalized in the state by 1900. In June 2003, the state passed a parental notification law, repealing it four years later before passing a new one in 2011. New Hampshire then passed a law in 2012 which required minors to wait 48 hours after requesting an abortion but no longer required parental consent. New Hampshire law regarding abortion has been heard before the US Supreme Court in the case Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in 2006. The number of abortion clinics in New Hampshire has declined over the years, with 18 in 1982, 16 in 1992 and four in 2014. In 2010, there were three publicly funded abortions in the state; all three were federally funded. There are both active abortion rights and anti-abortion rights activists in the state.

Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction.

In 2005, the Ethiopian Parliament liberalised the abortion law to grant safe abortions to women in specific circumstances.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Eggertson L (March 2001). "Abortion services in Canada: a patchwork quilt with many holes". Canadian Medical Association Journal . 164 (6): 847–9. PMC   80888 . PMID   11276554.
  2. 1 2 "Abortuskliniek klaagt over anti-abortusdemonstranten". NOS (in Dutch). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ↑ Arnold Mandemaker (14 April 2019). "Yvonne uit Eindhoven werd belaagd door anti-abortus demonstranten". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Verantwoorde zorg in abortusklinieken, met ruimte voor verbetering" (PDF). Dutch Health Care Inspectorate (in Dutch). Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. August 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Jones RK, Jerman J (March 2017). "Abortion incidence and service availability in the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  6. ↑ Jones, Rachel K.; Jerman, Jenna (2017). "Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. ISSN   1931-2393. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  7. ↑ Jones, Rachel K.; Jerman, Jenna (2017). "Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. ISSN   1931-2393. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  8. ↑ Jones, Rachel K.; Jerman, Jenna (2017). "Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. ISSN   1931-2393. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  9. ↑ Jones, Rachel K.; Jerman, Jenna (2017). "Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. ISSN   1931-2393. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  10. ↑ Jones, Rachel K.; Jerman, Jenna (2017). "Abortion Incidence and Service Availability In the United States, 2014". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 49 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1363/psrh.12015. ISSN   1931-2393. PMC   5487028 . PMID   28094905.
  11. ↑ Jones RK, Zolna MR, Henshaw SK, Finer LB (March 2008). "Abortion in the United States: incidence and access to services, 2005" (PDF). Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 40 (1): 6–16. doi:10.1363/4000608. PMID   18318867.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Paul Ruigrok, Karin van den Born en Mirjam Gulmans (29 March 2007). "Abortus". Andere Tijden . NTR en VPRO. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Achtergrond: Abortus in een historisch kader" (in Dutch). Stichting Fiom. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  14. ↑ "Abortion Clinics Are Closing at a Record Pace". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  15. ↑ Smith, Jordan (5 February 2019). "Louisiana tests the new Supreme Court on abortion". The Intercept . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "One-Third of U.S. Women Seeking Abortions Travel More Than 25 Miles to Access Services". Guttmacher Institute. 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  17. ↑ Tribune, The Texas (2016-06-28). "Texas Abortion Clinics That Have Closed Since 2013". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  18. ↑ Tribune, The Texas (2016-06-28). "Texas Abortion Clinics That Have Closed Since 2013". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  19. ↑ "Satanic Temple launches abortion clinic named after Catholic Supreme Court justice".
  20. ↑ Julie Bosman, "Anti-Abortion Activists Worry That a New City Law Will Make Their Task Harder", The New York Times, 5 June 2009
  21. ↑ Alesha E. Doan (2007). Opposition and Intimidation:The abortion wars and strategies of political harassment . University of Michigan. p.  23.
  22. ↑ Doan 2007, p. 106.
  23. ↑ Doan 2007, p. 115.
  24. ↑ Freeman, Hadley (20 January 2012). "Diablo Cody: devil's advocate". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  25. ↑ Clarke, Cath (23 November 2007). "Just don't say the A-word". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  26. ↑ Dreazen, Yochi J. (2002-05-28). "Abortion Protesters Use Cameras, Raise New Legal Issues, Lawsuits" . Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 1 Mar 2024. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  27. ↑ Carmon, Irin (May 10, 2012). "Abortions made public". Salon. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  28. ↑ "Access to Abortion Services Act". BC Laws. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  29. ↑ Liptak, Adam; Schwartz, John (2014-06-26). "Court Rejects Zone to Buffer Abortion Clinic" . The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on Oct 2, 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  30. ↑ "The Death of Dr. Gunn" . The New York Times. March 12, 1993. Archived from the original on Jan 14, 2024.
  31. ↑ National Abortion Federation (2009), "Incidence of Violence & Disruption Against Abortion Providers in the U.S. & Canada"
  32. ↑ "Clinic Violence: Arsons and Bombings". National Abortion Federation. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011.

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