“Sometimes patients need to wait 2 to 3 weeks — and abortion care is extremely time sensitive,” says Dr. Kristina Tocce, medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
The increased strain doesn’t just affect those coming from out of state. It’s also displacing patients who live locally and now are waiting longer for an appointment, she says.
Some states may very well end up as an island of abortion access, surrounded on all sides by states that have enacted bans.
In Granite City, Ill., the Hope Clinic for Women has essentially dealt with this dynamic on a smaller scale for years. That clinic sits just across the river from St. Louis, Mo., where restrictive laws have already made it challenging for most women to get an abortion.
Most of the patients come from outside Illinois — and not just Missouri, but also states like Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, says Dr. Erin King, the executive director at Hope Clinic.
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