Planned Parenthood Unveils an Abortion Care Finder Tool

From ELLE

In a time when the government continues to strip away women’s reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood noticed an increase in searches for one phrase on its website: “abortions near me.” The organization is now launching an answer to that query.

Planned Parenthood has unveiled the Abortion Care Finder, a tool on its website that allows users to locate their nearest Planned Parenthood abortion provider by offering their age, zip code, and last menstrual cycle. According to The New York Times, if the tool shows the nearest Planned Parenthood to be further than 60 miles away, it will refer users to a map created by the National Abortion Federation. The NAF map will connect users to independent providers and extensively describe abortion laws by state, although it doesn't offer the specifically personalized results of PP's Abortion Care Finder. This means that although states such as Kentucky or Mississippi do not have Planned Parenthood locations, the map will provide information about the nearest non-PP abortion clinic in those states.

The new tool will also explain state laws, abortion methods, clinic services, and financial options. “The Abortion Care Finder uses technology to help put agency back in the hands of our patients,” Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO at Planned Parenthood, said via The Cut. “As politicians are increasingly trying to keep people from accessing care or even information related to their sexual and reproductive health, it’s our duty to ensure people can still access health care and accurate, trustworthy information—no matter what.”

The tool's release comes at time of uncertainty for reproductive rights, particularly around which states provide legal and safe abortions. “Restrictions have just been coming so fast and furious,” McGill Johnson told the Times. In the last several months alone, 26 anti-abortion bills have passed in states such as Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama, where a federal judge temporarily blocked a near-total ban on abortions last month. Meanwhile, Missouri may become the first state in the nation without a remaining abortion clinic.

You Might Also Like

• 10 Pairs of White Sneakers That Go With Everything

• 50 Surprising Things You Never Knew About 'Sex and the City'

• 20 Serums to Solve All Your Skincare Problems