NORFOLK, Va. — Last week, Florida's abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy went into effect, adding it to the growing list of states making the procedure illegal, especially in the South.
This makes Virginia one of a few states in the region where abortion is legal, and that’s taking a toll on state clinics.
Jill Abbey is the administrator of the Richmond Medical Center for Women, which has clinics in Richmond, Newport News and Roanoke. She says one of her Florida patients this week wasn’t expecting to travel out of state for an abortion.
“She needed the services and picked up the phone and was shocked when she called a clinic in Florida and she couldn’t be seen there,” Abbey said. “She said ‘I’ll be voting from now on. It’s the first time I’m voting in an election.’”
Florida’s ban, along with those in other nearby states, is impacting Virginia. Data collected by the Guttmacher Institute shows 17% of Virginia’s abortion patients were from out of state in 2023. That’s up 10% from 2020. Across the country, the average increase was 7%.
Rae Pickett with the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood says their office numbers directly reflect a similar trend.
“In Virginia, over the last seven to ten days, we have seen about a 10% increase in out-of-state patients. The bulk of which are coming from Florida,” explained Pickett. “That brings our total out-of-state total to about 30% of our patients.”
Abbey says her clinics have seen a similar trend. “Really, almost all our patients are from out of state,” she said.
To cope with the influx, Pickett says Planned Parenthood has expanded telehealth services for primary care and gender-affirming care to create more space in its clinics. Also, patient navigators help those from outside Virginia with funding and travel arrangements.
“It’s an incredible strain on all abortion providers in Virginia,” said Pickett. “It also puts people who live here in an additional predicament because care just might look differently.”
Meanwhile, the influx of patients also has pro-life advocates concerned, but for different reasons. Olivia Gans Turner with the Virginia Society for Human Life told 13News Now, “what’s truly sad is they are trumpeting that Virginia is now a destination to come and have an abortion.”
She argues, there are alternative care options for women, and those should be advertised just as prominently.
“Why do we find ourselves still in a situation in 2024 where I either have to get rid of this pregnancy, my baby, or my life is over,” asked Gans Turner. She pointed to the dozens of pregnancy resource centers in Virginia that provide financial assistance, including housing, clothing and education expenses.
“Why do women feel like the only thing they can do is have an abortion? Is she in a risky situation? Who’s bringing her to Virginia to get an abortion? All of that is not being discussed,” she said.
Meanwhile, Pickett says despite the influx of patients, wait times for abortion procedures are typically less than a week and the state does not have a mandatory minimum wait time between requesting the procedure and receiving it.