Colorado abortion clinics seeing more Texas women since new law passes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Planned parenthood of the Rocky Mountains says their number of out-of-state patients is usually relatively small, but that is changing in the wake of Texas’ latest abortion law.

“We’re seeing real migration patterns of patients seeking reproductive and sexual healthcare, and that impacts states way beyond Texas,” said Adrienne Mansanares, Chief Experience Officer of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. She called the influx of Texas women coming to Colorado and New Mexico abortion clinics in the past two weeks “significant”.

Cobalt, a Colorado-based organization that supports reproductive rights and helps abortion patients, says it has had a “dramatic increase” in patients seeking care from Texas. President Karen Middleton said, “We got our first call from a Texas patient on September 1st, and more than half of the patients that we are hearing from are from Texas, that is a big change. We expect as the law really sets in that we will begin to see more.”

The same trend is happening in other states. Trust Women’s clinic in Oklahoma City reported more than double the normal number of abortion appointments were made in a two day span.

Mansanares said, Planned Parenthood will do all they can to provide care for as many women as possible, regardless of where they’re from. However, she’s concerned about potential long-term strain for providers in states that Texas women are fleeing to.

“It is not sustainable ... The number of people who are going to access abortion care in Texas, is tens of thousands more than what we are able to do in New Mexico or in Colorado. Neighboring states cannot handle patient flow from the second most populous state in the country.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was questioned on why the law has no exceptions for victims of rape. He replied, “it provides at least six weeks for a person to be able to get an abortion. Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas.”

On Wednesday, Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Wiser joined the coalition supporting the Department of Justice’s lawsuit, suing Texas over the abortion law’s constitutionality. Gov. Abbott made a statement about the lawsuit, saying, “we are confident courts will uphold and protect that right to life.”

Abortion advocates are concerned about the mental and emotional strain the law puts on Texans seeking abortions. Mansanares said, “they come with a lot of fear, with stigma, with shame ... there’s a lot of terror that these patients are feeling.”

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