79 independent abortion clinics have closed since Dobbs

Despite its hype, Planned Parenthood is not responsible for the majority of abortions in the country. Its litigiousness, activism and controversial campaigns earn it much of the attention in the abortion discussion. More discreetly, however, spread from north to south, hundreds of independent clinics carry out 58% of pregnancy terminations.

They also provide the most late-term abortions and operate in the most "politically hostile" areas, according to the Abortion Care Network. This organization, which aims to group these private centers, or, as it calls them, "indies," puts the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood at 38% of the total, while 3% are performed in hospitals and 1% in private clinics. The rest, the majority, it assures, belong to those it represents.

The same network affirms that since the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 2022), leaving the states free to establish their own rules, 13 state governments banned abortion in almost all cases and more than 30 imposed some limit. In a dozen, citizens had the opportunity to vote on whether to enshrine it in their state constitutions last month, with mixed results. In several legislatures and courts, it is in dispute at this very moment.

Mass closures

"Abortion clinics have been closing steadily," the Abortion Care Network states in its “Communities Need Clinics 2024” report. Since 2012, the number of indies has dropped by 29%. Although the string of closures goes back a decade, Dobbs squeezed the accelerator: 76 independent clinics closed since 2022.

The first year of Dobbs, 42 of them closed. In 2023, another 23 did the same, and in 2024, 11.

The state where they have closed the most is Texas. Fourteen Texas indies have closed since 2022. Tied for third place, with four each, are Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and New York.

The above list reflects that while the imposition of new restrictions may have driven some closures, others occurred in permissive states like New York. In fact, according to Abortion Care, 70% of the closures occurred in territories considered "protective" or "very protective."

Although the pro-abortion organization laments this last figure (seeing in these closures, among others, the alleged influence of the extreme right) Catholic professor Michael New reaches a very different conclusion: "No matter where you are, you can always build a culture of life!"