In the months following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, progressive cities and states across the country raced to establish themselves as “havens” or “sanctuaries” for people seeking abortion care. Twelve states, including Maryland, and Washington, D.C., have since passed laws to make abortion more accessible by strengthening legal protections, shielding providers and patients from litigation, and — in some cases — setting aside state funding for abortion seekers.
As an organization working to expand abortion access in one of these so-called safe havens, we can definitively say that putting our faith in sanctuary states is a mistake.
For nearly a decade, the Baltimore Abortion Fund has operated a confidential helpline to support people who need abortion care. While we fielded a record-breaking 5,280 calls in the six months following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there were simultaneously 32,260 fewer abortions in the United States overall. The drop was driven by states that have banned abortion care, especially across the deep South, where access has been severely restricted. Meanwhile, sanctuary states that strengthened protections for abortion saw a comparably small rise in care.
