Out-of-staters are flocking to places where abortions are easier to get

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/16/ [login to see] /out-of-staters-flocking-to-places-where-abortions-are-easier-to-get
When Mara Pliskin started working at Planned Parenthood Illinois, she didn't expect to feel like a travel agent.

Now, the abortion navigation program manager and her co-workers joke that that's half the job — booking flight, train and bus tickets for out-of-state abortion seekers, arranging hotel stays and giving them money for food and gas.

"We're being as creative as possible to really just work with every individual patient to resolve all those barriers that might stand in the way between making their decision and getting to our door," she said.

What Pliskin and her colleagues face isn't unusual.

Even before Roe v. Wade was overturned last June, almost 10% of patients seeking abortions traveled out of state. But since the Supreme Court's decision, providers in some so-called "sanctuary" states where abortion access is protected are seeing record high out-of-state demand.

In Colorado, preliminary numbers show more than twice as many people from other states came for an abortion in 2022 compared to 2021.