US

Here’s How Many ‘Abortion Deserts’ Exist In America

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Nearly 30 U.S. cities require women to travel more than 100 miles to get an abortion, according to a study published Monday.

Twenty-seven “abortion deserts” have cropped up in various cities across America, the University of California San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) research group details in its study. The group defines an abortion desert as a location from which women must travel 100 miles or more to have an abortion.

The northeast region of the U.S. has the lowest number of these so-called deserts, while the midwest contains the highest number, Market Watch reported. The UCSF researchers also noted that 90 percent of U.S. counties don’t have an abortion clinic or provider.

Rapid City, S.D., has the farthest abortion clinic for an American city, with the closest located 318 miles away, Market Watch reports. Texas has 10 of America’s 27 abortion deserts. Other highly pro-life cities include Green Bay, Wisc., Columbia, Mo., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

West Virginia, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kentucky and Mississippi have only one abortion clinic in their states, the study reports. Currently, 780 abortion clinics operate in the U.S,  according to Bustle.

America is also seeing an increase in pro-life advocacy and protests outside of abortion clinics, according to a recent survey of 2017 demonstrations. The National Abortion Federation (NAF) reports an increase in pro-life protests and advocacy outside of abortion clinics across the country, according to The Associated Press.

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