Pittsburgh's Planned Parenthood clinic sees nearly 10% increase in out-of-state patients since Roe vs. Wade's reversal
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — One year ago, the Supreme Court issued a blockbuster decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, putting an individual's right to an abortion up to each state.
Abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania, but in the last 12 months at least 25 states enacted near-total bans or laws restricting access to the medical procedure. It's forced some women to travel thousands of miles to clinics like Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Dr. Ruchika Vij is a physician at the Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood clinic, the organization's only spot providing abortion services in Western Pennsylvania.
"Abortion always has been and remains a very safe medical procedure to undergo. The same cannot be said for pregnancy," Vij said.
In the year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she's noticed changes among patients.
"People are coming from a wider range of geographic locations," Vij said.
The clinic is seeing patients from 19 states other than Pennsylvania, including some as far west as Texas and as far south as Florida, to get care like an abortion since the landmark ruling. Before the decision, they traveled from six states, including many from neighboring West Virginia and Ohio.
These patients represent 25 percent of the clinic's patients, a nearly 10 percent increase.
"They have said things like, you know, 'We are so grateful to be able to even have the means to travel, to access the care that we need to access,'" Vij said.
Accessing care that means life or death for some.
"I've definitely had people say, 'The reason I'm pursuing this is because I can't have another pregnancy complication, because last time I almost died,'" Dr. Vij said.
However, getting an abortion is just one part of the process for those coming from out of state. People may also need to take off work, find child care, rides and hotels.
Sara Dixon of Planned Parenthood said it hired a patient navigator to help provide information on local funding and resources and to answer any related questions.
"People don't necessarily, the same day, want to go back to their home state, where, if there is an issue, there's a little risk possibly going to the ER or something like that. There's fear of repercussion," Dixon said.
While Vij may be treating more people from across the country, she's worried for those who don't have the means to make the trip.
"The real prices are the people who don't make it here," Dr. Vij said.
This past weekend, Right to Life held its national convention in Pittsburgh to mark one year. In a press release, President Carol Tobias said, "One year later, instead of working to protect innocent human lives and working to create safety nets for women in need, pro-abortion groups and their sympathizers… worked to protect unlimited abortions and abortionists who do them."
This Saturday, the League of Women Voters and other groups in Washington County will mark one year by holding a rally for women's rights and reproductive freedom in Washington Park.
