Health

Oklahomans can expect to travel hundreds of miles for abortions

KOSU | By Peggy Dodd

Published July 18, 2023 at 6:20 AM CDT

Reproductive rights supporters gather outside the Oklahoma state capitol on June 26, 2022, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade.

After Oklahoma became the first state in the nation to successfully outlaw abortion last year, Oklahomans seeking abortions can expect to travel hundreds of miles for care.

The state’s last abortion provider, the Tulsa Women’s Clinic, performed its final procedure in May 2022. According to the 2022 Oklahoma Abortion Surveillance Report, zero abortions were performed that June.

Statistics show that Oklahomans are making the journey out-of-state to seek abortion care, with Kansas seeing over 2,000 patients from the state in 2022, Colorado saw nearly 200 and Nebraska treated 20. Illinois no longer provides data that specifically indicates where out-of-state patients are from due to privacy concerns.

Tulsa Women’s Clinic relocated to Carbondale, Illinois in July 2022, 571 miles and over eight hours away from Oklahoma City. That location is just one of many out-of-state facilities where Oklahomans could go for abortion care, after hours of travel.

A NPR article states that as of April 2023, 14% of the U.S. live over 200 miles away from an abortion provider. A decade ago, those who did have to travel long distances lived in rural parts of the country, according to the article.

Today, access is limited across the South.

The closest providers for Oklahomans are located in Kansas, where abortions are banned after 21 weeks. In August 2022, voters in that state decided to keep abortion legal. From Oklahoma City, Trust Women Wichita is the nearest provider, over 150 miles away.

There are two other clinics in Wichita, but to the clinics in Overland Park, Kansas, Oklahomans can expect to travel over 280 miles for access.

Recent reports show that Kansas clinics are overwhelmed, keeping up with the out-of-state patient load. Kansas also sees patients from Arkansas, Missouri, Louisanna and Texas, states where abortion is either banned or severely limited.

Outside of Kansas, the next closest states to Oklahoma that provide abortion care are Nebraska, Colorado and Illinois. In Nebraska, where abortions are banned after 12 weeks, expect to drive 368 miles for care.

The nearest clinic in Colorado is 436 miles away. There, abortions have no prior wait times and are not limited.

For Illinois, the location of one of the last Oklahoma clinics, there isn’t a waiting period and abortions are available until viability. However, the closest clinic there is 463 miles from Oklahoma City.