Access to Abortion Clinics in the Post-Dobbs Era: Distance measures and State Abortion Bans

• In Event: 40861 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: Policy Change, Gender, and Reproductive Health

Abstract

The 2022 Dobbs decision marked a significant retreat for reproductive health and autonomy in the United States. The implementation of state abortion regulations has instigated rapid closures of abortion clinics, fundamentally altering access to reproductive healthcare. To examine the economic and geographic disparities in access to abortion care post-Dobbs, I conduct a descriptive analysis of how distances to the nearest abortion clinic have changed across tracts, focusing on factors such as poverty, uninsured population, and rurality. Preliminary results find that tracts with higher percentage of uninsured females are more likely to be further away from abortion clinics both pre- and post-Dobbs. Additionally, tracts in states with abortion bans have seen greater increases in travel distance from 2022 to 2023, exacerbating economic burdens for women. However, findings also suggest potential buffering effects from neighboring tracts, particularly for women in abortion desert states adjacent to more protective states with expanded clinic availability.c

Author

• Chae Kim, Cornell University