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Nicole Clegg is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
Four years ago, on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal protections for abortion. In the years since, 20 states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion and the number of patients traveling to another state for care has doubled compared to the pre-Dobbs era.
But here at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE), we were able to pursue a different direction. We asked ourselves, “What can we do in this moment?” That singular question led to years of determined work to expand abortion access wherever and however we could.
I’m extremely proud to share that PPNNE is about to hit an important milestone: beginning July 6, abortion will be available at 100% of our health centers and through telehealth across our three-state region. That means more people can get care closer to home, with fewer barriers and delays.
Abortion access is about more than whether a service is technically legal; it’s about whether a person can actually get that care when they need it. That is why we have taken important steps to reduce barriers. Since 2022, PPNNE has implemented telehealth and app-based abortion visits, expanded pain management options for patients, grew our abortion fund, and established a practical support program to help patients with travel, lodging, childcare, and meals.
In a post-Dobbs America, expanding abortion access is not just an operational achievement — it is a promise to patients that we will keep providing the care they need, even as others work to eliminate it. We know that anti-abortion advocates’ real agenda is to make all forms of abortion illegal nationwide.
The recent attack on medication abortion is a perfect example of this strategy. Anti-abortion advocates, along with attorneys general in the most restrictive states, sued the FDA over mifepristone, one of the pills in a medication abortion, and its dispensing rules. If successful, the case would have upended care — even here in our region where abortion is legal.
Patients and providers experienced legal whiplash as the rules suddenly changed overnight, then changed again, and again. Ultimately, the Supreme Court stepped in and allowed access to continue through the mail and telehealth — for now. But this case is not over, and it could dramatically impact abortion access across the country.
These types of attacks on abortion are calculated. They create fear, uncertainty, and delays until patients are too scared or too confused to seek care. And for abortion providers like us, they drain our precious resources.
But a common mantra here at PPNNE is, “We won’t be deterred, we can figure it out.” And we usually do. No matter what is thrown at us — court rulings, political attacks, new restrictions — we adapt and keep moving forward. Like a river finding a new path around a boulder, we do not stop when the landscape changes. We find another way through. Because standing still has never been an option.
The Dobbs anniversary is always a somber day, remembering what we’ve lost and how many peoples’ lives were and continue to be impacted. But it is also an important moment to recognize what has been built, defended, and expanded in response. Four years later, PPNNE is still here. We are still providing care. We are still protecting patients. And we won’t stop fighting until every person once again has the power to control their own bodies.