A 50 mile drive can be one of the most challenging obstacles a woman faces when seeking a safe abortion.  Distance from an abortion provider means more than just 2 or more hours in the car or on a bus.  For many women, preparing to travel includes arranging for childcare and negotiating time off work.  Upon arriving in what is often an unfamiliar area, a woman can be told to wait, forced in many states to observe a medically unneccessary waiting period. Extra nights in a hotel, away from work and family, can exponentially increase the burden on a woman seeking abortion care.  Combined with waiting periods, distance can transform a short procedure or consultation with a clinician into a multiple day event.

But what if a half-day drive was reduced to an hour? What if a woman could get the care she needs in her own community or even from her family doctor?

The Rural Abortion Provider Initiative acts on the belief that early abortion care should be available to every woman in the community where she lives. Our goal is to ensure that no woman needs to travel more than 50 miles or 2 hours to get the early abortion services she needs.  We work with doctors and other healthcare providers in these medically-underserved communities in order to make early abortion services available to women.  Our on–the-ground organizers meet personally with rural doctors to identify their unique challenges and hear their ideas on solutions.   We provide clinicians with the concrete support they need, whether it be procuring equipment, organizing training, or connecting them with other doctors to build a network of support.

The Rural Abortion Provider Initiative is the only national project specifically aimed at developing rural abortion providers.  Putting early abortion services within rural women’s reach is one of the many ways AAP is using innovative solutions to address gaps in abortion access.