Number of Abortion Clinics Continues to Fall as Number of ‘Abortion Free’ State Grows

Two and a half years after the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the number of abortion clinics in the U.S. continues to fall and 14 states are now classified as “abortion free” by the pro-life organization Operation Rescue.

The 2024 Survey on American Abortion Facilities was released on Tuesday and shows that 29 clinics closed their doors in 2024 while another 20 facilities have announced that they “no longer see patients in person.”

According to the report, “This trend of abortion clinics abandoning the concept of meeting with patients in person emphasizes the difficulty abortion facilities are experiencing securing and retaining abortionists.”

However, the report also acknowledges, “the allure of mail-order chemical abortion pills for profit-focused abortion centers, made more appealing by easier access and decreased operational costs.”

14 states are classified as “abortion free” by the report, including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

The “abortion free” designation means that those states provide legal protection for unborn life from conception to birth,  “albeit with rare exceptions and always for the life of the mother.”

Four other states, including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina are not classified as “abortion free” but have passed “heartbeat” laws protecting innocent life from the time a fetal heartbeat can be detected which is typically around the sixth week of pregnancy.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said in a statement: “There is no doubt that abortion facilities are struggling to survive in this post-Roe environment,”

The number of abortion clinics in the U.S. has been steadily declining for more than 30 years from 2,176 in 1991 to just 720 in 2021. Although new abortion clinics were opened this year, there was an overall decline from 670 in 2023 to 667 clinics in 2024.

The report also celebrates the defeat of what it calls three radical abortion amendments in last months elections and examines Planned Parenthood’s market share of abortion clinics as well as how its taxpayer funding has changed over the years.

Have more abortion clinics closed since the overturning of Roe?
How has taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood changed over the years?
What is Planned Parenthood’s market share of abortion clinics?
What’s the status of “back-alley” and mail order abortions?

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— Operation Rescue (@operationrescue) December 10, 2024