Three Years Post-Dobbs, Abortion Providers Experience High Levels of Violence & Disruption

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
April 23 2025 
CONTACT: Carina Pacheco, [email protected] 

The National Abortion Federation released their 2023/2024 Violence & Disruption Report showing the barrage of harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks abortion providers experience daily

NATIONAL—Today, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) released its Violence & Disruption report with data from 2023 and 2024. The report shows there has been sustained and consistent harassment and violence against abortion providers, even as clinics closed and abortion became harder to access in some regions.

This year’s interactive report compares the violence and disruption that NAF members reported in 2023 & 2024 to the total data NAF has tracked since 1977. The report features “heat maps” that demonstrate the states where providers reported experiencing the highest levels of obstruction, protesters, threats, and trespassing. Finally, the report includes an audio storyteller map where viewers can click through and hear directly from providers at clinics across the country about their experiences with violence and disruption. 

“Harassment and violence shouldn’t be just part of the job for abortion providers,” said Melissa Fowler, Chief Program Officer at the National Abortion Federation. “NAF has been compiling incidents of violence and disruption against abortion providers for almost 50 years, and in that time, there has been an organized and relentless campaign of harassment, terror, and violence targeting our members.” 

Fowler added, “Although many clinics have closed as a result of abortion bans, we continue to see sustained harassment and violence that wouldn’t be tolerated against any other health care providers or profession.”

Here are the key findings from this year’s report: 

• 621 cases of trespassing in 2023/2024 and 9,648 since 1977
• 777 obstructions in 2023/2024 and 18,329 since 1977
• 296 death threats / threats of harm in 2023/2024 and 1,652 since 1977
• 128,570 picketing in 2023/2024 and 1,023,487 since 1977
• 37 cases of stalking in 2023/2024 and 781 since 1977
• 38 cases of assault and battery in 2023/2024 and 570 since 1977
• 17 thefts in 2023/2024 and 392 since 1977
• 3 arsons in 2023/2024 and 203 since 1977
• 3 attempted arsons in 2023/2024 and 109 since 1977
• 30 hoax devices / suspicious packages in 2023/2024 and 489 since 1977
• 12 bomb threats in 2023/2024 and 699 since 1977

View the full report: 2023-2024 Violence & Disruption Report

This year’s interactive report has stories from abortion providers so viewers can hear directly from them about the anti-abortion violence they experience. The following abortion providers are featured in the map and available for interviews:

“Let me be clear: there is nothing peaceful about the kind of protesting behavior we see at our clinic,” said Julie Burkhart, President of Wellspring Health Access and Co-Owner of Hope Clinic. “We have seen extremists try to invade our clinic multiple times in 2023 and 2024, intent on harassing our staff and intimidating our patients. We hope our stories help people understand the challenges providers and clinic staff experience every day. However, we will never stop providing the critical care our patients need.” 

“Since opening our clinic in Illinois October 2022—just months after Roe was overturned—our work has been consistently and regularly disrupted by harassment,” said Jennifer Pepper, President & CEO, CHOICES Clinics. “Some protesters scream personal insults at patients, while others set up fake check-in stations to get personal information from patients. Many of our patients travel long distances and across state lines from ban states to access care they need and do not deserve to be greeted this way. Abortion bans do not prevent the underlying reasons why people need this care; they just make it more challenging to access.”

“The DuPont clinic specializes in later pregnancy abortion care, so we are one of the few options in the country for most of our patients,” said Matthew Reeves, Chief Executive Officer, DuPont Clinic. “Our specialization has also made us a major target of anti-abortion extremists. Last year, we tried to open an abortion clinic in Beverly Hills, but our future landlord and City of Beverly Hills caved to extremist pressure and we lost our lease. Our patients come from all walks of life, but the one thing they have in common is that they need the life-saving abortion care only we and a few other clinics can provide. Anti-abortion extremists are relentless, but so are we, and we will not back down.”

“My clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, sees anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 protesters in front of our clinics a year,” said Calla Hales, Executive Director of A Preferred Women’s Health Centers. “In 2024, we experienced a bomb threat that was terrifying and forced us to stop services for a few hours. We fear violence will only get worse this year, and we are already seeing an increase in violence as extremists test what they can get away with under an administration that will not enforce the FACE Act and has pardoned past perpetrators.”

NAF provides a number of critical security resources to clinics in order to keep providers and their patients safe, including 24/7 emergency response, staff preparedness trainings, facility and residential security assessments, and law enforcement assistance when desired and appropriate.

If you have any questions or would like to set up an interview with a leader at NAF or one of these abortion providers, please reach out to: [email protected]

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The National Abortion Federation is the nation’s largest and leading professional association of abortion providers. NAF represents hundreds of providers and clinics across the country that are on the frontlines of helping people access abortion care. They provide members with trainings, security support, and guidelines for the gold standard of abortion care. NAF also operates the National Abortion Hotline, the largest national, multi-lingual abortion hotline in the U.S, which helps anyone in any state understand their care options, including finding a provider, arranging travel to another state, or funding their care.

National Abortion Hotline: 1-800-772-9100.