Dr. Warren Hern closes Boulder Abortion Clinic after 50 years (performed third-trimester abortions)

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.dailycamera.com/2025/04/23/warren-hern-boulder-abortion-clinic-closes/

The Boulder Abortion Clinic, one of the relatively few options in the country for third-trimester pregnancy terminations and the longtime target of anti-abortion demonstrators and violent threats, has closed after 50 years.

Dr. Warren Hern, the clinic’s outspoken director, has been hailed as a fierce champion of reproductive rights, and, even before Roe v. Wade was overturned, patients traveled from around the country and overseas for later-term procedures.

(snip)

Most states have a limit on how far into pregnancy doctors can perform an abortion. Colorado is one of nine states without a limit, according to the Guttmacher Institute. A ballot initiative to add a 22-week limit in Colorado failed in 2020, with 59% of voters rejecting it.

(snip)

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains said in a statement that it was working with partners to find options in the wake of the Boulder Abortion Clinic’s closure. In some cases, Hern saw patients with more-complex conditions than even other providers who performed later abortions.

[bdamomma]

1. Sad

Full blown assault on women continues, we will fight back.

[BOSSHOG]

2. We must not offend religious zealots

That would be unseemly in a country which touts the separation of church and state. But since religious zealots care not about the separation of church and state let’s do away with it. And turn loose the tax assessors. That’s what religious zealots want. Right?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I hope that Planned Parenthood can find a way to continue Dr. Hern's work. It's so important. n/t

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Planned Parenthood generally isn't a fan of abortions later in pregnancy. Only one PP clinic in the U.S. provides

abortion services after 26 weeks.

[AZJonnie]

4. I think it's important to note that these were not purely elective abortions performed because a woman

capriciously decided that she didn't want a baby after all, 8.5 months in. Although some states technically don't have laws against it, I think very few if any doctors will do abortions (at least, not fatal ones) in the 3rd trimester unless either its likely the mother would die otherwise, or in cases of horrible fetal abnormalities that were either discovered very late, or for some reason an earlier termination was not possible, such that fetus have little or no chance of living more than a few minutes, hours or maybe a couple of days with massive intervention.

It's one of the favorite talking points of the anti-choice cadre, playing it up like these things are just done willy-nilly, and perfectly healthy 8.5 month old fetus are ripped out and put to death just cause a woman doesn't want it. I realize some people do support that sort of thing, and have their reasons for it, but IMHO, that is tantamount to murder, and I at least have never read a story saying such a thing did happen.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. People need abortions after 20 weeks for all sorts of reasons besides what you describe.

They didn't find out they were pregnant until they were further along, they had trouble raising money for the abortion, they couldn't get in sooner at their own local clinic.

Also, every abortion is elective. No one is required to get an abortion. People choose not to get them all the time -- even if their health is threatened.