How far is too far? An analysis of driving times to abortion clinics in the US.

Twenty-seven US states specifically target clinics that provide abortions with laws called “Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers,” also known as TRAP laws. They exist to regulate the operation of clinics beyond what is necessary for patients’ safety. There are a wide range of regulations imposed by TRAP laws that require drastic, expensive, or impractical changes for clinicians. If the clinics can’t meet these new requirements, they are forced to close.

In 2013, Texas passed a TRAP law called House Bill 2 (HB2). Out of the 41 clinics open in Texas at the time, only five fully met the new requirements. As the number of operating clinics in Texas was cut in half, the issue was brought to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. It was argued that when nearby clinics close, pregnant patients experience an “undue burden” to travel upward of 150 miles to the nearest clinic. One of the judges, Edith Jones, hearing the case replied, “Do you know how long that takes in Texas at 75 miles an hour? This is a peculiarly flat and not congested highway.”

This drive would take about 5 hours round trip, and it could have impacted the nearly 275,000 women of reproductive age living in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

Although these regulations have since been overturned by the Supreme Court, consider Jones’s comment regarding travel distance and travel time: these measures are not synonymous. For some people in the US, round-trip travel time to the nearest abortion-providing clinic can be about nine hours.

We set out to quantify access to abortion clinics by measuring what really affects people: how long it takes to drive there. Let’s start by looking at the duration to and from the nearest clinic for different regions and well-populated cities.