The Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon has seen an increase in patients traveling from states away to receive abortion care. This comes over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Amy Handler, Interim President and CEO of PPSO, said that because of some states’ restrictive laws on abortion, people are traveling across state borders to come to Oregon because of its more progressive laws.
“Patients have come from as far away as Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana,” Handler said.
Dr. Justine Parker, medical director of PPSO, described the struggles of a patient she saw just last month, which echoes the difficulties faced by many other patients following restrictive abortion bans across the country.
“Last month we saw a single mother of three from Missouri, where abortion is completely banned, seeking abortion care,” Parker said. “This resulted in greater airfare costs and this patient assumes financial, logistical and emotional burdens.”
The mother had sought care at PPSO because she had an older child in Oregon that could care for their younger siblings, according to Parker.
Parker said these burdens are common with every patient PPSO sees that has to travel from somewhere outside of Oregon. Parker said that costs patients can take on include airfare, lodging, childcare and lost wages.
“As a consequence of these logistics, patients often have an increased sense of shame and stigma, as well as a decreased ability to keep personal information private, which results in further emotional cost.” Parker said.
Oregon’s Supreme Court codified abortion rights into law in 2017.
In 2022, former Oregon governor Kate Brown signed a multi-state commitment to reproductive freedom, alongside the governors of Washington and California, to ensure access to abortion in those states would be available for people seeking abortions in states where it had been banned.
This helps Oregon become what PPSO refers to as a critical access state. A critical access state is what PPSO calls a state that borders another state that has banned abortion, according to Samantha Sussman, Interim Chief Marketing Officer at PPSO.
Because abortion is banned in Idaho, Oregon becomes the nearest accessible state for reproductive care.
“Our elected officials continue to support access to care,” Handler said. “Given the bans on abortion all over the country, many people no longer have access to abortion care in their state and have to travel to places, like Oregon, to get that care.”
Handler said that PPSO has now hired a Patient Navigator that works with other navigators across the country to find the quickest and closest appointments for patients in need.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 13 states have enacted complete abortion bans with either no or limited exceptions.
“Since the fall of Roe, we have seen patients from every single state with an abortion ban,” Handler said.
Parker said that PPSO will continue to work with and advocate for out-of-state patients despite the barriers that those patients face.
“We believe all patients deserve access to safe, effective and affordable reproductive health care,” Parker said.
Groups of students gathered to block the road and gain support through honks from cars passing by. After a draft of a supreme court opinion would overturn Roe V. Wade was leaked the day prior, hundreds of protesters gathered on May 3, 2022 to march through downtown Eugene in protest. (Maddie Stellingwerf/Emerald)
