In our listings we’ve classified each PP center, as reported on the center’s page on their website, as “Does abortions” or “Referral only.”
Before Dobbs, the number of U.S. PP centers that did abortion referrals but didn’t do abortions was declining as some centers closed and others moved into doing abortions, especially by pill.
However, since the June 24 2022 Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, a large number of centers that did abortions but are in states that ban abortions will move into the “referral-only” category – but they will be the places that funnel women to go out of state to get abortions. Therefore, the alternative places to go pre-pregnancy for medical care becomes all the more important. One of the best ways to keep women from out-of-state abortions will be to have them going elsewhere before they’re even pregnant.
Most of these “Referral Only” centers fall into one of three categories:
- Centers in a rural out-of-the-way places
- Centers that are one of several in a large city in which one or two do abortions and the others refer.
- Centers in a state where abortion is banned or more strictly regulated than they wish to abide by.
There are several reasons why these centers are especially worthy of focus from a pro-life point of view.
1. Our Chance to Catch Women Early
Say you have a woman – a couple of years before she even gets pregnant – who’s been persuaded that another facility such as a Community Health Center is where to make a habit of going instead of PP. Then when she does get pregnant, she may be told, “Your pregnancy test is positive. We’ll need to get you signed up for the prenatal clinic right away.” Not all CHCs have a prenatal clinic, but many do, and practically all of them will know where to send her for one.
If she’s still in the habit of going to the PP center, however, what she’s likely to hear is “Oh my dear, we’re so sorry, your pregnancy test is positive. When do you wish to schedule your termination?”
Reaching her outside the abortion center for a last-minute plea is a must, but it’s far more effective to catch her before a pro-abortion pitch is ever made – and see to it that it’s never made.
In abortion-banning states, PP will be the pipeline to getting women to travel to the abortion-promoting states. Once efforts turn from legal bans to preventing abortions that happen in spite of legal bans, this can be a major focus.
We need to get women out of PP’s orbit, and the best time to get the largest numbers of women out is when it’s easy to do. Get her to a place that’s far more comprehensive in its care than PP. There are likely to be plenty of honest ways to explain why it’s a better deal.
2. Our Chance to Get More Street Activists Involved
General public
Publicizing good health facilities doesn’t take a lot of people. Leafleting or tabling at colleges, concerts, and other venues only takes one to three people, and can have a huge impact.
Outside the PP centers
For people too nervous for the high stakes of approaching women who are intending to get abortions, they can do something that’s still very valuable (as just explained above). They can talk with women outside referral-only PPs where they know that the customers aren’t there for an abortiowan.
As supporters of PP love to point out, people come to their centers for many real healthcare needs, like STD testing and Pap smears. In this case, the service the non-pregnant woman wants to get isn’t at issue; the issue is where she gets it from.
In these cases, it’s much easier to explain to someone why there’s a better deal elsewhere. For example, is the other place better on price, cleanliness, friendliness, not having health code violations, or having more comprehensive care so she and her families can go there for all their needs, not just the limited one PP offers?
3. More Likely to Close
The referral-only centers tend to be smaller than the ones that do abortions, and they don’t have the abortion money coming in. Women and men going elsewhere for STD testing, cancer screening, and family planning will cut into a higher portion of these centers’ business because that’s what their business mainly is. It’s not necessary to send everyone elsewhere; a permanent small dip in their business could be enough.
4. More Likely to Turn into Abortion Centers
Opening up a new abortion facility can be quite a challenge. A suitable building must be found or built, permits gotten, and pro-lifers will vociferously object and throw as many obstacles in the way as possible.
But what if there’s already a medical facility in place? Then pretty much all that’s needed for an abortion center is to start doing abortions there. It’s easy to avoid publicity until all arrangements are in place, and pro-lifers have fewer obstacles they can organize. This has happened over two dozen times, and in the states that still allow abortion, PP is strongly motivated to make it happen again.
So cutting into the business of referral-only PP centers, and hopefully contributing to their closure, is valuable not just because they’re branches of a huge abortion chain, but also because in abortion-promoting states they have the potential to easily become abortion centers!
Stats
Since the entire website is constantly updated because it’s a clearinghouse of the latest information, this list will also be updated whenever there’s a change.
- We remove centers which close entirely.
- We remove centers that have switched from referral-only to doing abortions – there may be more of these post-Roe as states that promote abortion host women from those states that ban it.
- We add those that switch from doing abortions to referral-only, which will be necessary in states that ban abortion.
Because of the Dobbs decision, quite a few are expected to make the switch; please be patient as we try to keep up. If they indicate that abortions are “paused” or “suspended,” we don’t put those on the referral-only list until the center’s web page takes abortion off the list of services they offer. Some may switch back and forth as legal status winds its way through the courts.
Current count = 177.
States with ONLY referral-only centers (13 states; 75 centers)
Alabama (2 of 2 centers)
Arkansas (2 of 2)
Idaho (2 of 2)
Indiana (11 of 11)
Kentucky (2 of 2)
Louisiana (2 of 2)
Mississippi (1 of 1)
Missouri (11 of 11)
Oklahoma (3 of 3)
South Dakota (1 center)
Tennessee (4 of 4)
Texas (32 of 32 open)
West Virginia (1 of 1)
States with MAJORITY referral-only centers (6 states; 58 centers)
Arizona (4 of 7)
Minnesota (11 of 16 centers)
New Hampshire (1 of 4)
Ohio (18 of 20)
Utah (5 of 8)
Wisconsin (20 of 23)
Remaining states with referral-only (15 states; 42 centers)
California (2 of 110)
Colorado (1 of 13)
Delaware (1 of 4)
Florida (4 of 17)
Iowa (4 of 8)
Maine (1 of 4)
Massachusetts (1 of 4)
Michigan (1 of 15)
Nebraska (1 of 2)
New Jersey (2 of 22)
New Mexico (1 of 4)
North Carolina (3 of 9)
Pennsylvania (11 of 23)
Vermont (3 of 7)
Washington (6 of 30)
Two states have no PP centers (North Dakota and Wyoming). In the remaining states, all PP centers do abortions.