According to a survey by the pro-life watchdog group Operation Rescue, 367 surgical abortion facilities have closed permanently since 2013. With this year’s closures, there has been an astounding 79 percent drop in the total number of surgical abortion facilities in the United States since 2013. But it isn’t all good news.
Operation Rescue conducted a survey of all abortion facilities in the United States from November 18 to December 6, 2019. They defined abortion facilities as independent businesses that commit abortions outside of a hospital, and looked at two categories of abortion: surgical and chemical (abortion pill).
Overall, the survey found a net gain of nine U.S. abortion facilities in 2019. There are now a total of 710 abortion facilities in the United States, up from 701 in 2018. This is mainly due to the fact that Planned Parenthood opened five new abortion pill facilities and added the abortion pill to 14 of its facilities while ending surgical abortion at five facilities. There are now 245 abortion pill (chemical abortion) facilities in the United States, which is an increase of 15 from the year prior. The number of chemical abortions (abortion pill) has been on the rise, climbing 47 percent over the last decade.
Operation Rescue found that despite the overall increase in abortion facilities, there are seven fewer surgical abortion facilities now than a year ago. In fact, the number of surgical abortion facilities has hit a record low of 464, and that number has been declining for years.
On a state by state basis, Operation Rescue found that New York and New Jersey each added four abortion facilities, which the group attributes to the repeal of regulations on abortion in those states. The states with the largest decrease in abortion facilities were Maryland and Massachusetts, which each saw three facilities close. Massachusetts has a bill before the state House and Senate that would ensure abortion is legal at any time for any reason, and remove parental notification requirements for minors. In addition, Rhode Island became the seventh state with just one remaining abortion facility, joining Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia.
READ: Latest Planned Parenthood annual report reveals record-breaking abortions and taxpayer dollars
Planned Parenthood holds the majority share of the abortion facilities in the nation, making up 54 percent of all abortion facilities. There are 381 Planned Parenthood abortion facilities — 170 doing surgical abortions and 211 providing chemical abortions (abortion pill).
Of the facilities that closed in 2019, one was Clinic Latina in Phoenix, Arizona, run by abortionist Ronald Yunis who was arrested after he pulled a gun on a pro-life activist in October. Another three were part of American Women’s Services with locations in Baltimore, Cheverly, and Silver Spring, Maryland. They were all chemical abortion (abortion pill) facilities owned by abortionist Steven Chase Brigham. It is unknown why these facilities closed but they were forced to stop committing surgical abortions in 2013 after it was uncovered that they were illegally administering misoprostol to women without a licensed doctor present. The Baltimore location is where Maria Santiago died after going into cardiac arrest after an abortion in 2013. None of the staff, including the abortionist Iris E. Dominy, had up-to-date CPR certification. The defibrillator was broken, and the crash cart in the hall was not used to help Santiago.
The full report can be read here.
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