More patients are traveling to Oregon for abortions
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More than one in 10 abortion patients in Oregon last year traveled here from out of state, new data estimates from the Guttmacher Institute show.
Why it matters: Those numbers, which are up from 2020, could be impacted by a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected this week on the legality of neighboring Idaho's near-total abortion ban, particularly whether it violates federal protections for emergency treatment.
- Restrictions in states like Idaho put "immense strain" on already-burdened health care systems of neighboring states, Maria Rodriguez, director of Oregon Health & Science University's Center for Reproductive Health Equity, told Axios.
Threat level: Out-of-state abortion patients "are often extensively delayed in accessing care, arriving to us much sicker as a result," Rodriguez said.
- "They're either getting substandard care because of the laws in their home state, or they're facing the burden of seeking care in another."
Between the lines: Oregon has one of the strongest abortion access laws in the country.
- It was codified into the state constitution in 2017 and there are no gestational limits or waiting periods to undergo the procedure, nor restrictions on receiving abortion pills by mail.
Flashback: Idaho's near-total ban went into effect two years ago when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Bordering West Coast states, including Oregon, Washington and California, subsequently saw an increase in out-of-state demand.
By the numbers: Of the 11,930 clinician-provided abortions in Oregon last year, 1,270 were out-of-state patients, a nearly 55% increase from 2020.
- Most out-of-state patients in 2023 traveled to Oregon from Idaho and Washington — 400 and 690, respectively.
- Meanwhile, 360 Oregonians traveled to Washington to get the procedure.
What they're saying: Demand for abortions — and overall reproductive health care like OBGYN services and vasectomies — has risen throughout clinics in Oregon and southwest Washington, Sara Kennedy, CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette (PPCW), told Axios via email.
- "The post-Dobbs reality is that people are traveling to receive essential health care wherever they can find an appointment," Kennedy said.
- She said PPCW's eight health centers in the region have seen a 29% rise in abortion care since 2022 and have served patients from 40 states.
The big picture: More than 171,000 patients nationwide traveled out of state for abortions last year, according to Guttmacher, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
- State abortion bans have left residents of nearly a quarter of U.S. counties having to travel more than 200 miles to find an abortion provider, according to a Middlebury College tracker.