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Regional branch of Planned Parenthood reports seeing women from all over U.S. after major SCOTUS ruling

Outside of reproductive health clinic.
Brian Bull
/
KLCC
Exterior of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, in Eugene.

It’s been almost a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The decision turned regulation of abortion over to the states.

In Oregon – which codified abortion access in state law six years ago – a Planned Parenthood administrator says it’s been a disruptive time since.

Amy Handler is the interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, which is based in Eugene. She said her organization has seen lots of traffic from states that have enacted their own abortion bans since last year.

“We’ve seen patients from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin," she said. "And we’ve seen overflow patients from California, Portland, and Washington.”

Handler said while it’s been taxing on Planned Parenthood staff, it doesn’t compare to what people seeking abortion services are going through just to make it to Oregon.

Anti-abortion advocates consider the end of Roe v. Wade a major victory, saying it protects the lives of the unborn.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.