New Abortion Clinic Opens in Boulder, Colorado
A new clinic has opened in Boulder, Colorado, providing abortion services for pregnancies up to 34 weeks “for any reason.” This timeframe is significant, as it’s about ten weeks after most babies can survive outside the womb and roughly six weeks before a pregnancy reaches full term.
Named RISE Collective, the clinic began operations in April after the closure of a previous Boulder abortion facility. This earlier clinic, run by 87-year-old Dr. Warren Hahn, was known for offering late-term abortions and was among the few in the U.S. that provided such services.
Alicia Moreno, the executive director of RISE Collective, had previously worked under Dr. Hahn at his clinic. “When the clinic closed, we all said we didn’t want to let this go,” she stated. “So the question was: Who would be willing to help us create our own?”
The RISE Collective is made up of 13 former staff members from Dr. Hahn’s clinic, with each member having equal ownership and voting rights concerning planning and operations. According to Moreno, they’ve had a strong working relationship for quite some time. “We already knew what we needed to do; it was really just about getting it set up,” she explained.
In a promotional video, the clinic touted Boulder’s “historic legacy of full-term abortion care,” asserting that “a new chapter is rising.” The video emphasized that every reason for seeking abortion care is valid and worthwhile.
Moreno mentioned that the clinic might also explore offering contraceptive services and medications related to gender-affirming care, a term often used by advocates. She recalled a conversation with a local hospital about the need for such services, especially since some government support for gender-affirming care for minors has been reduced.
Currently, the clinic aims to secure funding through donations and grants. They have raised nearly $20,000 on GoFundMe as of Tuesday.
In the U.S., Colorado is one of nine states and Washington, D.C. that permit abortion during pregnancy. The other states include Alaska, Vermont, Oregon, New Mexico, Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, and New Jersey. Additionally, Colorado passed a state constitutional amendment in 2024 to protect abortion rights.
Every year, thousands of fetuses are aborted in the U.S. after 21 weeks of pregnancy. Despite arguments that these late-term abortions are uncommon, data suggests that in 2021, over 6,000 viable babies were terminated after this point. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that more than one million abortions could occur in 2023, with at least 10,000 being late-term abortions, although some data may be missing from various states.
