Massachusetts has seen an increase in out-of-state abortion patients, following the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to statewide abortion bans,
Shortly following the Dobbs decision, Massachusetts hospitals predicted that they would receive an influx of patients from other states.
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A study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers, published in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday, confirmed the prediction. The researchers reported that there has been an estimated 37% increase in the number of out-of-state residents seeking abortion care in the Bay State.
“Interstate travelers face elevated financial stress from additional travel expenses and the stigma of abortion, which prompts many people to be secretive about their abortion experiences. We wanted to understand how the allocation of funding for abortion care and travel by various non-profits and charities changed after Dobbs, since abortion can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars," author Elizabeth Janiak, who works in the Division of Family Planning at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham, said in a statement.
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Abortion travelers to Massachusetts is not new, Janiak said, but after Dobbs, patients are coming from farther away places like Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia, which are typically more expensive journeys.
