Abortion providers 'maxed' in North Carolina, bracing for Florida impact

84,052. That is the number of abortions reported in Florida in 2023, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

With a six-week ban on abortions taking effect Wednesday, abortion providers in other states say they’re already bearing the burden of that demand.

Agency for Health Care Administration

“It's not even noon, and we're absolutely already seeing an impact, especially in requests for appointments,” said Calla Hales, executive director of Preferred Women’s Health Center, which provides abortions and has two clinics in North Carolina. “We're seeing an influx of calls coming in from patients trying to figure out what the laws are and what they need to do to receive care outside of Florida since they are no longer able to.”

WPTV

Abortion is currently banned after 12 weeks in North Carolina. That’s one of the least restrictive bans in the southeastern U.S.

Hales said North Carolina abortion providers have managed an influx of patients since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision..

"When Dobbs went into effect... the last half of 2022, we were operating at a 167% capacity," Hales said.

While some of that demand quieted when North Carolina’s current abortion restriction took effect in 2023, Hales said providers in the state are already stretched thin as they brace for the impact of Florida’s new restrictions in the coming weeks and months.

"The unfortunate reality is North Carolina is already maxed," Hales said. "There's only so much we can do to continue to expand."

Other businesses are preparing to absorb the demand as well.

GetStix is a website that sells women’s health products including pregnancy tests, condoms and the morning-after pill.

"After the Dobbs decision, we found that sales honestly skyrocketed," the site’s co-founder, Cynthia Plotch, said. "And today with the latest news out of Florida, we expect to see the same."

Stix shared sales data with WPTV, which shows a 43% increase in sales of its morning-after pill compared with last year.

Stix also reported a 123% increase in sales of the medication to Florida customers since 2022.

To date this year, AHCA reports 14,735 abortions performed in Florida. Ninety percent of those occurred during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Agency for Health Care Administration.

One abortion was reported this year during the third trimester. Because Florida abortion providers are required to report the reason for ending a pregnancy to the state, we know it was due to a fatal fetal abnormality.

Florida’s new abortion restriction provide exceptions for abortions to take place between six and 15 weeks into a pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, human trafficking. If a patient claims any of those exceptions, they are required bring legal or medical documentation to the abortion provider.

In 2023, the AHCA reported 11 pregnancies were terminated in Florida due to incest, 107 were terminated due to rape, and 2 were terminated due to human trafficking.

An exception in the new restriction also provides for abortion between 6 and 15 weeks gestation if “there is a medical necessity for legitimate emergency medical procedures for termination of the pregnancy to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of imminent substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman other than a psychological condition.”

This exception requires certification from two physicians in writing, unless one physician certifies in writing that a second doctor is unavailable to consult.

The AHCA reports 2,325 pregnancies in 2023 were terminated due to the emotional or psychological health of the mother, 1,334 abortions were performed due to a physical health condition that was not life-threatening for the mother, and 251 were performed due to a condition that threatened the mother’s life.