Out-of-state women seeking abortions in Massachusetts up 37-percent, study shows
BOSTON - A new study by Brigham and Women's Hospital, with some funding from Planned Parenthood, finds that many people are traveling to Massachusetts for abortion care due to bans and restrictions around the country.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled the right to have abortion was protected by the Constitution. The decision, known as Roe v. Wade, was upheld for almost 50 years. But in 2022, it was overturned by the Supreme Court, eliminating that right.
"It really is the calling of our field to talk about health equity and shine a light on human rights violations," said public health professor Elizabeth Janiak of Harvard Medical School. During the first four months after the fall of Roe, Janiak and her team of researchers at Mass General Brigham monitored the changes in access to health care nationwide.
"There's been a really rapid and radical shift in abortion access in the United States and we've felt certainly felt that in Massachusetts," said Janiak.
Researchers reported a 37% increase in the number of out-of-state residents seeking abortion care in Massachusetts. People from states as far away as Texas, Florida and Louisiana.
"I had a patient who herself is a physician and came up from a state in the south to receive this care and this is someone who is the most privileged," said Aaron Hoffman, an abortion provider and co-director of the Harvard Home for Family Medicine. "She was expressing her despair at having to practice in a place where she can't receive the medical care that she knows that she needs."
For patients who can't afford to travel to Massachusetts for care, the state is getting involved.
"Even if care is legal, that doesn't necessarily make it accessible," said State Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Norfolk Worcester, Middlesex). In 2022, Rausch and her colleagues announced nearly $20 million in funding for reproductive health and family planning. Some of that money was used to fund local non-profits
"One in particular puts dollars into abortion access funds," said Rausch. The funds cover procedure costs in addition to flights and accommodations associated with traveling to Massachusetts.
