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Abortion Clinic Near Me: The Factors That Influence The Cost Of Abortion.

There are no standard costs of an abortion procedure. Many variables go into determining “how much should an abortion clinic near me cost”. The price range of an abortion is from $0.00 to $35,000.

The main factors which influence the cost at your clinic are the following:

· Geographic location

· Insurance coverage

· The abortion procedure required

· The number of weeks pregnant

· Financial support obtained from friends, family, private donors and non-profit organizations

It may be surprising to learn that a critical healthcare service such as abortion, does not have standard costs across the board.

The reason for there not being standard costs are the following:

• States continue to pass laws and regulations under the guise of maternal safety that make the costs of performing abortions more expensive. This includes the following:

• • Implementing 12 to 72 hour waiting periods that require 2 visits minimum to the medical facility prior to undergoing the abortion procedure.
  • Hiring of advanced medical personnel
  • Purchase of additional expensive medical equipment
  • Requiring upgrade and updating buildings that require a minimum of $800,000 to 1,500,000 of renovations to meet minimal outpatient surgery center standards to operate as an abortion clinic

The State laws implemented above have not been shown to save women’s lives. They are only in place to discourage and delay women in obtaining an abortion.

With each week of delay in having an abortion procedure performed, leads to a higher incidence of complications and side effects. This in turn may lead to an increase in maternal morbidity and mortality.

Most State laws that have implemented over the past 5 to 10 years intended to restrict abortions, have lead to a higher incidence of maternal complications and death.

The restrictive State laws and regulations have forced many abortion clinics to close due to the significant increase in costs and expenses required to implement.

The impact of these restrictive laws have lead to several States having only one abortion clinic.

The results of these restrictive State laws have made thousands of women in the US seeking abortion services difficult to obtain.

In order for abortion facilities to comply with restrictive abortion State statutes, the cost of abortion procedures has increased.

The most common question asked when a woman calls an abortion clinic is the following:

• “what do the services from the abortion clinic near me cost?”

Abortion procedure prices may differ from one clinic to another within the same State or City.

If a patient meets the qualifications of funding assistance or have Health Insurance that covers the abortion procedure, the cost is $0.00

On the other hand, late term abortion procedures may cost thousands of dollars to perform.

Let’s look at several factor’s that may influence the cost of abortion procedures:

Location:

There are several hostile states with more regulations and obstacles seeking to restrict access to abortion.

Increased security measures, statutes that require advanced trained medical personnel, building requirements and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other expenses, are costs that are included in the abortion procedure fee.

Several States require in-person counseling sessions with the Physician prior to the abortion procedure.

Women may travel 300 to 1000 miles in order to avoid State restrictions such as a 24 to 72 hour time delay before the abortion process is able to occur.

State restrictions may lead to the cost of the abortion procedure costing the patient double the amount. This is due to the need to hire a babysitter, food and board expenses and travel to the abortion facility.

Insurance coverage:

For any other medical service, having health insurance is a near guarantee that patients will have minimal to no pay out of pocket to cover their medical cost.

This is not the case when needing to have an abortion performed. Many States do not require health insurance companies to cover abortion costs. Their stance is that abortions are immoral, politically incorrect and murder.

Many women are surprised to learn when they choose to terminate their pregnancy that they must pay a part or the entire cost of their abortion procedure even when they have health insurance. A health insurance policy does not guarantee lower costs.

State policy legislation determines abortion coverage.

If one must travel out of state to have the abortion procedure performed, you may no longer be in your coverage network and must pay the total amount of the abortion procedure out-of-pocket.

While health insurance plans provided by employers may say they cover abortions, there may be State restrictions in place.

There are 22 states that restrict abortion coverage provided in health coverage for public employees.

There are eleven States that further limit abortion coverage in private insurance plans. These States are Texas, Utah, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Idaho, and Oklahoma.

In some cases, you may only be allowed to have insurance coverage for abortion if you purchase an additional rider. Most women do not plan to have an abortion so they never purchase the rider.

Most states have provisions for insurance policies to cover abortion in case of rape, incest, or the life of the mother is endangered.

Medicaid and other health plans funded by the federal and state government have language that is intended to cover abortion procedures in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s mental or physical health is at risk.

Type of Abortion Procedure And What It Entails:

The type of abortion that will be performed is critical to the cost of the abortion.

Medical Abortion procedures such as the abortion pill will cost less than the surgical procedures in the first trimester of pregnancy generally.

The abortion pill procedure consists of generally taking two medications:

• Mifepristone (RU 486. Mifegyne, Mifeprex, French Pill) – It works by blocking the hormone Progesterone. Progesterone is critical to maintain the pregnancy and its growth.

Mifepristone causes the pregnancy to separate from the wall of the Uterus.

• Misoprostol (Cytotec) – It is a Prostaglandin E1. When binding to receptors on the Uterus, the Uterus expels the fetus and pregnancy tissue.

Surgical abortions are generally more expensive. Cervical preparation with Laminaria and or Cytotec may be needed to help soften and dilate (open) the cervix to allow the removal of the fetal tissue safely.

Cervical preparation may take 24 to 72 hours to complete. This process normally depends on the number of weeks pregnant the patient is. The further the number of weeks pregnant, the longer the softening and opening of the cervix may take.

Duration of Pregnancy:

Most abortions are performed in the first trimester of pregnancy (>90% occur at 13 weeks or less).

Generally; the earlier in pregnancy the abortion is performed, the less expensive the procedure.

Abortions are performed in the second trimester (14.1 to 28 weeks), third trimester (28.1 weeks or greater) and late term (21 weeks or further).

• First Trimester Abortions on average cost $500.00. Their range in price can be $300.00 to $1,500.00.

• Second and Third trimester abortions range in price from $1,000.00 to $35,000.00

Late abortions are generally performed for life threatening indications to the Mother or a congenital or structural fetal abnormality that is incompatible with life.

The surgical and medical abortion procedures are performed from 3 to 24 weeks with minimal side effects or complications by experienced Physicians and competent medical staff.

The abortion pill procedure can be performed in 24 hours or less in women who are in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Having a legal abortion is 11 times safer than having a term vaginal delivery.

Income and Financial Support:

Over 50% of week who seek abortion services are poor and below the poverty line. They live paycheck to paycheck and are unable to afford the average cost of an abortion.

There are many financial resources available at the state and federal levels for women seeking an abortion. These are provided by non-governmental organizations seeking to help alleviate the difficulty women face when seeking abortion services.

Most donations for abortions come from non-profit organizations and private donors.

Many abortion clinics are willing to reduce their prices to help women in one of the most difficult times in their lives.

In many cases, donors help women with travel expenses, childcare and lodging.

Funds may be pooled from several organizations in order to reduce the overall abortion costs for women.

With the above factors, you may get an idea of what an abortion near you will cost depending on the type of abortion and what each procedure entails.

1. Medication Abortion (Abortion Pill) Near Me

As discussed earlier, other names for the Medical Abortion are 1)the abortion pill, 2) RU-486, 3)early medication abortion (EMA), 4)Early Option Pill, 5)Mifegyne, 6)Mifepristone and 7)Mifeprex.

The average cost for a first trimester abortion (up to 12 weeks is $535. The price range can be 0.00 to $1,500.

For VIP or Exclusive treatment where the patient and her significant other are only in the building in addition to minimum medical staff, the cost is $2,000 to $5,000.00

2. Aspiration Abortion Near Me

This procedure goes by the names Manual Vacuum Abortion, suction abortion oe Suction Dilation and Currettage (D&C).

The average cost for the procedure, when performed ten weeks or less is $508 in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The price ranges from $0.0 to $1,500. This procedure is generally performed in patients who are 3 to 12 weeks pregnant.

A hand-held medical instrument or electric vacuum apparatus is used to empty the uterus of the pregnancy tissue.

Local and IV anesthesia are used for discomfort and other pain medications and antibiotics may also be provided at discharge.

3. D & E Abortion Near Me

D & E stands for Dilation and Evacuation. They are generally performed on patients from 13 to 24 weeks.

Their costs range from $500 to $35,000.

This is dependent on the number of weeks pregnant and the anticipated complexity of the procedure.

The procedure is quite similar to the aspiration method except for the cervical preparation required that allows the removal and passage of the pregnancy tissue.

In many States, abortions cannot be performed after 16 to 20 weeks due to their strict restrictions.

4. Late abortion Near Me

Late abortion is not strictly defined, but generally refers to abortions performed at 21.1 weeks or further.

Priming of the cervix and induction of labor are generally used to remove the pregnancy.

There are various medications that can be utilized to stimulate uterine contractions (Oxytocin, Prostaglandin, Mifepristone, Urea, Hypertonic Saline).

The combination of labor induction agents and the D&E process is utilized to perform late term abortions.

These procedures are generally only performed when the pregnancy poses a life-threatening risk to the mother or there is a fetal congenital or structural abnormality that is incompatible with life.

Late abortion procedures range in price from $5,000.00 to $35,000.00.

In Summary;

Abortions range in price from $0.00 to $35,000.

The price a woman pays to terminate her pregnancy consists of multiple factors: 1) the number of weeks pregnant, 2) geographic area, 3) whether or not health insurance pays, 4) the type of procedure being performed and 5) if non-profit or private funding is available.

Please call the nearest abortion clinic near you and ask about abortion costs.

Dr James S Pendergraft | Orlando Women’s Center | Abortion Clinic Orlando