Seeking Abortion Care Across State Lines
Every day, patients across the country undergo complex and strenuous journeys to get the abortion care that they need.
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Access to abortion in the United States has long been shaped by where a person lives, as well as by race, gender, disability, and socioeconomic status. Since the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion has become far more difficult to access for over 25 million pregnancy-capable people of reproductive age. Thirteen states now have total abortion bans, and seven others ban abortion at or before 12 weeks. Most states with bans are in the South, the region with the highest proportion of Black residents, the worst maternal and infant health outcomes, and the fewest social services for families. These bans further restrict health care access and deepen racial and socioeconomic inequities.
Since Dobbs, telehealth medication abortion has improved access to care, with a 50% increase in the number of telehealth abortions between 2023 and 2025. However, patients who need in-person care because of gestational age, medical complexity, or other circumstances may have to travel to a state where abortion remains legal. In 2025, approximately 142,000 patients, representing 13% of all U.S. abortion patients, traveled outside their home states for care. This was 75% more than in 2020.
Traveling for abortion care can involve substantial costs for transportation, lodging, childcare, and lost wages, making the experience burdensome and isolating. Illinois, surrounded by states with abortion restrictions, has experienced one of the nation’s largest increases in out-of-state patients. My colleagues and I at the Contraception and Abortion Research and Education (CARE) Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital partnered with abortion clinics in Illinois to interview patients on their experiences of traveling for care. Some participants in our study traveled over a thousand miles because Illinois offered the nearest clinic where they could obtain care.
No patient should have to navigate a maze of legal, financial, and logistical barriers to obtain health care.
One participant described her experience:
“I took 2 flights coming here by myself. Whatever I’ve needed to do, I’ve done it by myself, alone. And I left my baby for the first time in my life with a neighbor for 3 days just to be here. It’s a hard situation.” — Abortion traveler from a state with a partial abortion ban.
Another participant recalled all the steps she took to arrive at her appointment that day. She learned she was pregnant at five weeks and decided to have an abortion. She went to her local OB/GYN and was advised to continue the pregnancy because of state restrictions. After the appointment, she searched on Google for abortion clinics. Clinics in nearby states required 18- or 24-hour waiting periods between counseling and treatment, but she could take only one day off work.
She eventually found the clinic in Illinois, where there is no mandated waiting period, yet the procedure was more expensive than expected, and she lacked reliable transportation. A clinic caseworker assembled financial assistance from three abortion funds and found a volunteer to drive her five hours to Illinois. By the time she overcame these barriers, she was 17 weeks pregnant and needed a two-day procedure involving cervical dilation. After securing childcare and additional time off work, she made a four-day trip to obtain the care she had sought starting 12 weeks earlier.
No patient should have to navigate a maze of legal, financial, and logistical barriers to obtain health care. Every day, patients across the country undertake similarly complex and strenuous journeys. Countless others face insurmountable barriers that prevent them from obtaining abortion care at all. Protecting individual health and autonomy, as well as the social and economic well-being of families and communities, requires making abortion care more accessible. Ideally, state and federal policies will eventually restore universal access to abortion care. In lieu of policy change, we can build sustained support for those living in banned and restricted states by donating to abortion funds, volunteering, and helping destigmatize abortion.
In the year following the Dobbs decision, charitable giving to reproductive health care surged, and abortion funds increased their budgets by 88%. However, this increase was short-lived. Many abortion funds now report substantial declines in donations. These organizations need public support to continue assisting patients financially and logistically. The National Network of Abortion Funds offers a searchable directory where you can find local abortion funds to support. You may also be able to volunteer with these organizations, perhaps becoming the person who helps a patient travel across state lines for care.
We can all be supportive voices for abortion access within our communities by sharing information from reputable, accurate sources and creating nonjudgmental spaces for people seeking abortions. Even amid intense political hostility toward abortion, each of us can advance cultural and community-level change, make patients’ journeys less confusing and isolating, and help build healthier, more equitable societies.
