The Abortion Care Network (ACN) — a network of independent abortion clinics (IACs) or “Indies,” which exclude Planned Parenthood facilities, hospitals, and physician’s offices — has released its 2024 report which claims that “[s]ince Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, 76 independent clinics have been forced to close or stop providing abortion care.”
The ACN report indicates that while there has been a decrease of 29% of brick-and-mortar abortion facilities since 2012, tragically there was an increase of both independent brick-and-mortar as well as virtual abortion facilities from last year. IACs committed nearly 60% of all abortions in 2024, yet the report claims that abortion access has been “decimated” since Roe in many parts of the U.S.
The Abortion Care Network is funded in part by the pro-abortion William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Hopewell Fund, the Buffett Foundation, Open Society, and the Packard Foundation, among others.
At a Glance:
- Independent abortion facilities commit about 60% of abortions in the U.S.
- Since 2022, 76 independent facilities have closed while 32 opened.
- The number of online-only abortion pill facilities grew from 2023-24.
- Independent facilities commit 62% of abortions after the first trimester.
- “Licensing and inspections,” “litigation,” and pro-life laws are listed as “hurdles” that “hinder” the work of abortion providers.
IAC’s commit most US abortions
According to ACN’s analysis, Planned Parenthood facilities committed 38% of all abortion nationwide (down from the 41% committed in 2023) while so-called independent abortion clinics (IAC’s) committed 58% of national abortions (up from the 55% they committed in 2023). In addition, ACN claimed that hospitals committed 3% of national abortions while 1% were committed by doctors’ offices.
“In addition to providing the majority of abortions in the U.S., independent providers operate the majority of abortion clinics in the states that are most politically hostile to abortion,” ACN claimed. “With over half the states in the US banning or severely restricting abortion and fourteen states lacking a single abortion clinic, access to abortion care in many parts of the United States has been decimated.”
Independent abortion facility closures and openings since Roe’s reversal
Overall, since June of 2022, 76 IACs have closed and 32 IACs have opened.
In 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision. “Abortion Care Network identified 76 independent abortion clinic closures between 2022 and 2024,” wrote ACN.
- 2022 – 42 IACs
- 2023 – 23 IACs
- 2024 – 11 IACs
While the ACN made a point to count facilities that had recently opened, it also noted that many of these newly-opened abortion businesses may have moved from one state to another since the Dobbs v. Jackson women’s Health Organization decision by the Supreme Court which overturned Roe v. Wade.
The report notes that “Between 2022 and November 2024… at least 32 new independent brick-and-mortar clinics have opened in 10 states.”
“Some of these new clinics are run by providers who were forced to close in one state and then moved or opened a new location in another state. Other clinics opened after recognizing the immense need that would be caused by post-Dobbs bans and restrictions—including the need for abortion care later in pregnancy,” ACN wrote.
Independent brick-and-mortar abortion facilities
“When Abortion Care Network started tracking clinic closures in 2012, we identified 510 independent abortion clinics open in the US,” the latest ACN report claimed. These were brick-and-mortar facilities.
“For the purposes of this report, a clinic is considered closed if the clinic or practice closed entirely, or if the clinic or practice remains open but no longer provides abortion care services,” ACN’s report stated.
- 2023: 429 total facilities: 346 brick-and-mortar and 143 online abortion dispensaries operating
- 2024: 586 total facilities: 363 brick-and-mortar and 223 online abortion dispensaries operating
“While many online-only clinics and a handful of brick-and-mortar clinics have opened over the years, the overall number of brick-and-mortar independent clinics in the U.S. has decreased by 29 percent since 2012,” the ACN report claimed.
Independent virtual abortion pill facilities
“Abortion Care Network counts each online access point in each state as one clinic. For example, Abortion On Demand provides abortion in 24 states and Washington D.C.; we consider this 25 clinics or 25 access points,” ACN wrote.
A report published last year (2023) by ACN found that 143 online abortion pill dispensaries were operating in 2023 (346 out of 489 independent abortion clinics were brick-and-mortars), nearly 43 more than what ACN estimated in 2022.
The 2024 ACN report indicated a nearly 56% increase in online abortion dispensaries from 2023, writing, “As of October 2024, ACN identified 363 brick-and-mortar independent abortion clinics, as well as 223 online-only clinics.”
Virtual abortion businesses are far more profitable, because they require fewer overhead costs and are largely unregulated. In addition, online abortion businesses often offer the abortion pill regimen to minors while providing less than a few minutes of implied care with little to no follow-up.
An April 2024 analysis of “online-only clinics (also referred to as telemedicine-only clinics) that offer medication abortion services without a physical location” published by the Guttmacher Institute claimed to have found “a steady increase in their number from zero in 2020 to 32 (4% of all medication abortion providers) in 2021 and 69 (9%) in 2022.” The Guttmacher analysis included all dispensaries, not just independents.
“These online clinics have come to play an important role in abortion access, accounting for more than 8% of all abortions provided by clinicians nationwide in the first 12 months after the 2022 Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe,” claimed Guttmacher. “The number of physical facilities and online-only providers in the United States using telemedicine and mailing abortion pills increased from 52 (7% of all facilities offering medication abortion) in 2020, to 91 (12%) in 2021 and to 243 (31%) in 2022.”
IACs commit most later abortions
According to the ACN, “independent clinics make up 62 percent of all US clinics that provide abortion after the first trimester.”
“Independent clinics represent 67 percent of all clinics that provide care at and after 16 weeks of pregnancy, 71 percent of clinics providing care at and after 19 weeks of pregnancy, and 88 percent of clinics that provide care at or after 22 weeks of pregnancy. After 26 weeks of pregnancy, the only clinics that provide abortion care are independent,” the ACN report claimed.
“Though most abortions occur in the first trimester of pregnancy, there are many reasons that people need abortions in the second and third trimesters, including delays caused by abortion restrictions, a lack of resources, increased clinic wait times, and factors related to health, safety, and viability,” claimed ACN.
We know from analyzing later abortion facility websites that many facilities will commit these heinous acts of violence “for any reason.”
2024 Abortion Care Network Independent abortion clinics commit majority of later abortions
IACs offer both chemical and surgical abortions
“Independent abortion clinics are more likely to provide both medication and in-clinic abortion care as options. Seventy-six percent of brick-and-mortar independent clinics offer both medication and in-clinic abortion care, as compared to Planned Parenthood, where both medication and in-clinic abortion care are available at only 38 percent of affiliated clinics, ACN claimed.
2024 Abortion Care Network Independent abortion clinics medication and surgical abortions by type
While Planned Parenthood’s report does not break down how many abortions were committed by the abortion pill, a recent claim from the president of Planned Parenthood has indicated that 70% of abortion sales (nearly 275,000 estimated) at Planned Parenthood are now committed by this method.
IACs losing abortion funds
Live Action News previously documented the claim that abortion funding for women traveling out of state for abortions is drying up.
“Despite providing the majority of abortion care in the US, independent clinics remain underrecognized, underresourced, and underfunded,” ACN wrote in the 2024 report. “Nearly every abortion-related fund—from Abortion Care Network’s Keep Our Clinics campaign to local abortion funds to large national organizations—have seen significant decreases in donations over the last year.”
The assumption may be that these funds pay for women’s abortions, but according to the campaign’s donation page, they actually pay for abortion facilities to:
- Make necessary security improvements[…]
- Replace equipment that has been damaged in a natural disaster or is beyond the life of equipment;
- Address clinic building repair issues;
- Cover legal costs to maintain compliance with increased unnecessary regulations;
- Pay staff and rent, cover medical supplies;
ACN says pro-life laws are closing abortion facilities, but closures are also in pro-abortion states
ACN credited abortion facility closures to pro-life laws and the overturning of Roe. “As of October 2024, 13 states ban abortion completely, six states ban abortion sometime in the first trimester, and another 22 states ban abortion at a different arbitrary point in pregnancy,” ACN wrote. “The devastation has been especially stark in the Midwest and South, where nearly 70 percent of the independent clinics forced to close since the Dobbs decision were located.”
Abortion Care Network highlighted Florida
“As the threat of criminalization for abortion providers has risen across the country, so has the chilling effect on the provision of care and the pipeline of future providers willing to train in abortion care,” ACN claimed. “In states where abortion remains legal, medically unnecessary restrictions, financial barriers, and the constant threat of anti-abortion extremism make it challenging for clinics to keep their doors open.”
But, even in more pro-abortion states, ACN noted that “Clinics in these states are not immune to the threat of closure: Eight out of the 11 (70 percent) independent clinics forced to close in 2024 were in states considered legally ‘protective’ or ‘very protective.'”
“Currently, 14 states have no abortion clinic at all,” ACN wrote.
Pro-life “hurdles” impact abortion “livelihood,” causing abortion workers “frustration” and “grief”
ACN referred to things like “licensing and inspections” as well as “litigation” (likely from abortion clients injured from the care they received) as “hurdles” that “hinder” the work of abortion providers.
ACN deceptively described the “work” of the violent act of providing abortions as “an act of love, hope, trust, and community care,” suggesting that “it is crucial to note that bans, restrictions, and stigma also have harmful effects on the livelihoods and professional integrity of abortion care providers.”
Note the word “livelihoods.”
“Being an abortion provider has never been an easy or stress-free job, but since Dobbs ushered in an unprecedented number of bans, restrictions, and clinic closures, levels of moral distress, grief, and frustration among clinic staff have risen,” the ACN wrote.
Perhaps the moral distress isn’t because of pro-life laws. Perhaps it’s because they’re killing innocent and defenseless human beings every day.
Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:
Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!
