In a clear example of abortion tourism, an abortion business in New York is offering a new program for women living in pro-life states — the “Out-of-Town Program.”
The program brings women from their home state to the abortion facility in Queens, New York, one of many states now looking to capitalize on abortion travel for vulnerable women and teens.
Choices Women’s Medical Center commits abortions up to 24 weeks — though children born as young as 21 weeks are capable of surviving. Established in 1971, the clinic commits abortions up to 10 weeks by the abortion pill as well as first and second-trimester surgical abortions through six months of pregnancy. The website states, “We provide free abortion pregnancy tests, as well as no-cost abortion options if you qualify.” (emphasis added) For second-trimester abortions, women “will not feel, hear, or see anything during the procedure” because they will be under “deep sedation.”
Regarding the “Out-of-Town Program,” the abortion facility states, “We can help you with travel details including airfare and housing, the costs of your trip, and the cost of your abortion.” It continues, “Our Out-of-Town Program was created with your needs in mind. In most cases, you can get an appointment within 1-3 days. New York State allows abortions up to 24 weeks with NO limitations. NO age restrictions. NO requirements that you notify parents or partners, NO waiting periods.”
The clinic says it is “close to Kennedy and Laguardia airports” for quick abortions, including dangerous one-day second-trimester abortions. Research shows that second-trimester abortions are “significantly” more dangerous to women. Risks include perforation of the uterus, cervix, and other organs, as well as hemorrhaging and infection. Second-trimester abortions typically take two to three days, so carrying out these procedures in one day puts women at even greater risk.
In 2020, LeRoy Carhart, a longtime Maryland and Nebraska abortionist who is one of a handful of providers committing abortions extremely late in pregnancy, injured two women so badly that hospital staff were traumatized. Both women underwent abortions at 25 weeks within days of each other, and both were hospitalized. Women injured in abortions at a facility far from home could face hospitalization without their support network present.
Choices Women’s Medical Center screenshot Out-of-Town Program
Choices Women’s Medical Center’s “all-inclusive abortion program” includes transportation to and from New York City, including airfare. It works closely with abortion organizations that will fund abortions for women who can’t afford them. The facility will also provide overnight housing with reduced hotel rates or a “safe stay with a volunteer.”
“Our Out-of-Town program is designed to encourage and support women from other states to come to our abortion clinic to carry out their reproductive decisions,” states the website (emphasis added). “We accept Medicaid from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Delaware, and will help patients arrange affordable transportation and hotel accommodations. We are affiliated with Haven Coalition, a volunteer organization that provides overnight housing for abortion patients who need it and provides an escort for patients to and from [the] abortion.”
While claiming to care about women, this business it is promoting underage abortions to teens, out of state, and without their parents’ knowledge while being housed with strangers.
This also means young girls could be brought from their homes to Queens by an abuser, forced to undergo an abortion they may not want. If a girl suffers complications once she is home, her family will have no idea what she has endured or how to help her.
Even the abortion pill can cause serious complications and has been found to be four times more dangerous than first-trimester surgical abortions. In 2023, a Canadian teen died from septic shock after taking the abortion pill. Septic shock is a known risk of the abortion pill. In addition, teens and young girls are up to twice as likely to suffer dangerous cervical lacerations during an abortion, and more likely to suffer post-abortion endometritis compared to adult women, most likely because they have smaller cervixes that are more difficult to dilate.
This out-of-state program puts vulnerable women and girls into the homes of strangers and then sends them back home — states away — following dangerous second-trimester abortions with no regard for the complications they might face. If complications occur, the patient will be far away from the Queens clinic — out of sight and out of mind of the staff there.
California has begun advertising its no-rules abortions in pro-life states and Colorado has long been an abortion tourism destination. Now New York has positioned itself for the same.
