The number of out-of-state patients seeking a legal abortion in Washington state rose by 50% in the year after the Dobbs decision For patients overall, abortions in Washington were also delayed by about a week following the Supreme Court ruling There was a big shift in the home states of patients who traveled to Washington for an abortion; with more women coming from Texas and other southern states FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Following the fall of Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, there's been a surge in women from as far away as Texas and Florida traveling to Washington state to have a legal abortion, new data shows. The study focused on the Cedar River Clinics, a network of care sites in Washington providing abortion services.
Data was collected for the years 2017 through the end of July 2023. The result: Whereas 4% of abortions performed at the clinics before the Dobbs decision involved women from out of state, between June 24, 2022 and July 31, 2024, that number had risen to 6% -- a 50% increase. The study also found that abortions for all women cared for at the clinics were delayed by about one week after the Dobbs decision.
“While one-week delay does not sound significant, any delays in receiving abortion care are problematic because it adversely affects the health of the pregnant person,” noted senior study author . She's an OB/GYN and family medicine physician at University of Washington Medicine in Seattle. Study first author Taylor Riley, a graduat.
