Florida women increasingly forced to travel out of state for abortions after six-week ban

A woman living in Miami discovered she was six weeks pregnant during a routine visit for ear pain and was later advised that an emergency surgery, now illegal in Florida, was necessary to protect her life, forcing her to travel alone to North Carolina. Since the state enacted a six-week abortion ban in May 2024, the Guttmacher Institute reports that Floridians obtaining abortions out of state have risen from 2,800 in 2023 to 10,200 in 2025, a more than threefold increase.

North Carolina, which permits abortions up to 12 weeks, has seen a tenfold rise in Floridian patients, though high costs, multi-day trips, and up to 72-hour wait times hinder access, particularly for low-income and Latina women. Planned Parenthood’s 17 Florida clinics provide abortions only up to six weeks and refer later-stage patients elsewhere, while undocumented immigrants fear detention during travel. Across the South, similar restrictions have prompted a surge in interstate travel, telemedicine abortions, and the adoption of shield laws and financial assistance programs in some receiving states.