PITTSBURG, Kan. — A new Planned Parenthood clinic opening Monday in southeast Kansas will be the closest abortion access point for many people in the South and expects to have patients from six states in its first five days — Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
Kansas saw a 369% increase in abortions in 2023, with 69% of patients coming from out of state, according to the Guttmacher Institute. For the Trust Women Clinic in Wichita, which was previously the closest city for abortion access for Southern states, 81% of patients were from out of state, with Texas the most common home state, followed by Oklahoma.
Texas and Oklahoma have total abortion bans, with few exceptions. Southern states have six-week abortion bans. On average, pregnant people know they are pregnant after 5.2 weeks for intended pregnancies and 7.2 weeks for unintended pregnancies , the National Library of Medicine found.
The Pittsburg clinic will offer medication abortions for up to 11 weeks of pregnancy, and surgical abortions for 14-15 weeks of pregnancy.