Lower-Income Patients Have Farther To Go For Abortion Care, Data Show
Axios maps the drive times to nearest clinics from states with strict bans in place, while Salon dives deeper into the cost of traveling for out-of-state care.
Axios:
Drive Time For Abortions Are Longest In Low-Income, Diverse Areas Across U.S.
People driving the longest distances to get an abortion are more likely to come from congressional districts with lower incomes and more diverse populations, according to data analysis by the left-leaning Center for American Progress provided exclusively to Axios. (Rubin, 4/21)
Salon.com:
The True Cost Of Traveling Out Of State For An Abortion Is More Than Financial
Then there’s the financial component. Megan Jeyifo, executive director of Chicago Abortion Fund, told Salon it’s almost unheard of that insurance will cover the procedure when traveling from a state where there’s limited access to abortion care. Medicaid will not cover a patient if they travel out of state for an abortion either. Jeyifo said the average support cost, like for lodging, CAF provides a patient is $380. The average voucher they provide for the procedure itself is $480. And that’s just an average. (Karlis, 4/19)
Axios:
Abortion Bans Across The U.S. Are Straining North Carolina Clinics
As abortion access dwindles across the U.S., North Carolina clinics are running short on space, staff and time to care for the influx of patients. North Carolina has been a refuge for people seeking abortion care in the South. Resources may be too strained — and new restrictions too tight — to consider that the case anymore. (Sands, 4/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Calls Out Republican Abortion Policies In Alabama Ad
In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new political advertisement, two anxious young women in an SUV drive toward the Alabama state line. The passenger says she thinks they’re going to make it, before a siren blares and the flashing lights of a police car appear in the rearview mirror. “Miss,” a police officer who approaches the window says to the panicked driver, “I’m gonna need you to step out of the vehicle and take a pregnancy test.” (Luna and Mays, 4/21)
Abortion news from New York and Florida —
Politico:
Teens Drinking Legally? Republicans Use Scare Tactics On NY’s Abortion Measure.
New York Democrats hoping to drive turnout to critical House races in November are focused on a state-level Equal Rights Amendment that will, in part, ask voters to protect abortion rights. Republicans are responding with a provocative opposition campaign that warns “equal rights” could upend society through a litany of unintended consequences — an echo of the 1970s battle that tanked the federal ERA. Opponents claim the amendment could open the door to minors buying alcohol. They say it would allow children to receive gender-affirming care without parental approval. They even say it could protect sexual predators. (Mahoney, 4/21)
Politico:
Biden To Deliver Abortion-Focused Speech In Florida
President Joe Biden will deliver an abortion-focused speech in Florida [this] week, capitalizing on a looming abortion ban there to make a broader case for reproductive rights. At a campaign event in Tampa on Tuesday, Biden is expected to tie the 2024 election to access to reproductive rights across the country, a campaign aide confirmed to POLITICO. NBC News first reported Biden’s planned speech. (Schneider, 4/19)
