Boulder Clinic’s Closure: Ripple Effects on Late-Term Abortion Services Nationwide

Doctor uses stethoscope on pregnant woman's belly.

One of America’s last late-term abortion clinics, where procedures were performed up to 32 weeks and beyond, has closed its doors after 50 years due to financial difficulties and lack of sustainable support.

Key Takeaways

  • The Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, operated by 87-year-old Dr. Warren Hern, has shuttered after providing abortion services for five decades, including controversial third-trimester procedures.
  • Financial unsustainability drove the closure, with procedures costing around $10,000, limited insurance coverage, and decreasing donations.
  • Dr. Hern performed abortions up to 32 weeks and beyond, sometimes for fetal anomalies but also for various other reasons including gender selection.
  • Despite this clinic’s closure, Colorado remains one of nine states with no gestational limits on abortion, recently enshrining abortion rights in its state constitution.
  • Fewer than 20 facilities nationwide now provide abortion services after 24 weeks of pregnancy, further limiting access to late-term procedures.

Controversial Clinic Closes After Five Decades

The Boulder Abortion Clinic, founded by Dr. Warren Hern in 1975, has ceased operations after providing abortion services for 50 years. The clinic was established just two years after the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide and became one of the few facilities in America openly advertising and providing third-trimester abortions. Dr. Hern, now 87, was for many years the only abortion provider in the country performing procedures after 28 weeks of pregnancy, making this closure particularly significant for late-term abortion access nationwide.

The clinic’s website now displays a notice penned by Dr. Hern announcing the permanent closure. Financial difficulties ultimately forced the clinic to shut down, with Hern citing the high cost of procedures—approximately $10,000 for late-term abortions—along with limited insurance coverage and dwindling financial support from donors. This combination of factors made continuing operations unsustainable, particularly as Hern himself reached an advanced age with no successor prepared to take over the practice.

Late-Term Procedures Spark Ethical Debates

Dr. Hern’s practice generated significant controversy for performing abortions well into the third trimester. According to reports, he conducted procedures up to 32 weeks and beyond, well past the point of fetal viability. While Hern maintained that late-term abortions were performed for serious cases and not on demand, he also admitted to performing abortions for sex selection and on fetuses with beating hearts at 15 or 16 weeks, fueling ethical debates around late-term abortion practices and the limits of reproductive choice.

“After more than 50 years… we have closed and have stopped scheduling patients,” a notice written by Dr. Hern and posted to the Boulder Abortion Clinic facility’s website states.

The methods used for late-term abortions at the clinic were described in detail in an Atlantic article referenced by Breitbart, sometimes involving intact fetuses or removal in parts, procedures that pro-life advocates have long condemned as particularly inhumane. While late-term abortions constitute a relatively small percentage of overall abortion procedures in America, they still account for thousands of procedures annually and remain at the center of the most heated debates about abortion ethics and policy.

Hern’s Controversial Views and Legacy

Beyond his abortion practice, Dr. Hern has made statements about humanity that have drawn criticism from pro-life groups. He has described the human species as a “malignant ecotumor” and proposed renaming humans as “Homo ecophagus.” Hern has also claimed that pregnancy is inherently dangerous and that abortion is safer than childbirth, assertions strongly contested by many medical professionals and pro-life advocates who point to the growing body of evidence about abortion’s physical and psychological risks.

“Although I love my work, I have wanted for years to be free from the operating room and the daily cares of a private medical practice,” Hern wrote in his statement about the facility’s closure, adding that while he must “leave this sacred commitment to others,” he is still “committed to reproductive freedom [sic] for women” and “will find other ways to support that.”

Shifting Landscape of Abortion Access

The clinic’s closure occurs within a larger context of evolving abortion access across America. While Colorado remains one of nine states with no gestational limits on abortion, having recently enshrined abortion rights in its state constitution, fewer than 20 clinics nationwide now provide abortions after 24 weeks. The definition of “late-term abortion” itself has become contentious, with pro-abortion groups often rejecting the terminology while medical experts generally recognize a third-trimester abortion as one performed after 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Pro-life organizations like Oregon Right to Life have responded to the clinic’s closure by reaffirming their opposition to abortion at any stage, advocating for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. Meanwhile, abortion supporters worry about further restrictions on access to late-term procedures, particularly for women facing fetal anomalies or medical complications. This closure represents another significant shift in America’s complex and deeply divisive abortion landscape.

Sources:

  1. Notorious Late-Term Colorado Abortion Facility Run by Warren Hern Closes After 50 Years
  2. Timeline of Attacks on Abortion: 2009–2021
  3. Colorado Late-Term Abortion Clinic Closes After 50 Years