Boulder Clinic closure shrinks access to abortions later in pregnancy
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Anti-abortion protesters pray in front of the Boulder Abortion Clinic in 2022. Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The closure of the well-known and controversial Boulder Abortion Clinic, one of the nation's few providers of abortions after 20 weeks, sparks questions about access for patients seeking later abortion care.
Why it matters: Warren Hern, who founded the clinic in 1975, told Axios he's increasingly concerned about the future of abortion access in the U.S., particularly under what he described as mounting political pressure and rising threats to providers.
State of play: Colorado remains one of the only states without gestational restrictions on abortion, and the right to an abortion is protected in the state constitution.
- Laura Chapin, a spokesperson for reproductive rights group Cobalt, told Axios that although Hern's clinic is gone, those laws mean women still have access to abortions after 20 weeks in Colorado even if providers don't publicly advertise the care as he did.
The big picture: The clinic's closure comes as women across the country continue to travel to Colorado for abortions in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned in 2022.
- Estimates from Guttmacher Institute's Monthly Abortion Provision Study show 26% of abortions in Colorado in 2024 were provided to out-of-state patients.
Zoom in: Chapin did not have exact numbers or locations for providers who would perform abortions after 20 weeks in Boulder County or elsewhere in the state, but said "there are providers here who are trained on later abortion procedures who aren't necessarily part of a clinic."
Flashback: Hern closed his clinic April 18.
- "I've been trying to work myself out of a job for a long time," he told Axios.
- Since opening, the clinic was the target of protests and vandalism and Hern himself received threats.
- He told Axios the stress contributed to his decision to retire and is why he's unsure whether any providers will be as open about offering and advocating for abortions after 20 weeks.
What they're saying: Marcella Schieffelin, a former patient of Hern's, told Axios she was pregnant in 2002 when she became critically ill and doctors found her fetus had a fatal heart defect at week 25.
- Schieffelin said Hern and his staff were "professional, caring, compassionate and very trustworthy," including sheltering Schieffelin from on-site protesters.
- She said the clinic's closure would be "devastating" for women and abortion access.
The other side: Anti-abortion rights groups celebrated the closure. The conservative website Post Millennial framed Hern's retirement as the end of "taking the lives of the unborn."
- Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called the clinic's closure "a step forward in protecting unborn babies and their mothers."
Reality check: Abortions at or after 21 weeks are rare, representing 1% of total abortions in the U.S., per health policy resource KFF.
What's next: Hern said he will continue to write and do research but plans to limit his advocacy.
- At 86, he said he's not hopeful about the future of abortion access in the U.S.
- "As far as abortion rights, the fate of Roe v. Wade was sealed when Donald Trump was elected in 2016," he told Axios.
Yes, but: Despite Hern's departure, Chapin insists the infrastructure for care in Colorado remains intact: "People will still be able to access later abortion care here."