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Freestanding Abortion Clinics: Services, Structure, Fees

1982; Guttmacher Institute; Volume: 14; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/2134879

2325-5617

Stanley K. Henshaw,

American Constitutional Law and Politics

In 1981, The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), in collaboration with the National Abortion Federation (NAF), conducted a survey of 240 abortion clinics to update information about clinic structure and the relationship of structural characteristics to services, policies and fees. The clinics surveyed were a stratified random sample of all non-hospital abortion facilities that provided 400 or more abortions in the United States in 1980. Among the findings are the following: Thirty-one percent of the clinics reported that they are nonprofit or tax-exempt corporations. The nonprofit clinics are not significantly different from for-profit clinics in either the number of patients they serve or the region of the country in which they are located. Twenty percent of facilities, although regarded as clinics by the AGI for research purposes, define themselves as physicians' offices. These offices are more often located in the West and have smaller caseloads than other clinics. They are also disproportionately located in states with high abortion rates, which suggests that private physicians in these states are more willing than doctors in other states to provide relatively large numbers of abortions in their offices. Two-thirds of the clinics are licensed, most of them by states, but some by cities and counties. Licensed clinics have larger caseloads than nonlicensed facilities, but they are no different in terms of the other characteristics measured in the study, including services offered and fee structure. Fifty-four percent of clinics provide abortions after 12 weeks since the last menstrual period (LMP), and 24 percent, past 14 weeks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)This article reports the results of a survey done in 1981 by the Alan Guttmacher Institute in collaboration with the National Abortion Federation regarding abortion clinic structure and the relationship of structural characteristics to service policies and fees. A stratified random sample of all nonhospital abortion clinics providing 400 or more abortions was done. 31% of the clinics were nonprofit or tax exempt; 2/3 of the clinics are licensed; 54% provided abortion after 12 weeks, 29% past 14 weeks, and virtually all provide counseling. General anesthesia is offered by 29% of the clinics; 68% require an in-house pregnancy test; almost all participating physicians have hospital admitting privileges; and 76% perform abortions within 4 days of a woman's initial visit. The average clinic charge for a first trimester procedure was US$190, while hospital abortion costs averaged US$735 (1982 figures). The cost of a clinic abortion has fallen 28% since 1976 to US$190. Charges for second trimester dilatation and evacuation at 16 weeks since the last menstrual period average US$358 in clinics and US$740 in hospitals. 21% of the clinics provide these services.