Posted on 07/17/2002 2:01:55 PM PDT by kerberos3
EUGENE (AP) -- The only abortion clinic between Salem and the California border has closed its doors, surprising activists on both sides of the abortion debate.
Workers at the All Women's Health Services clinic, located near the University of Oregon, were referring callers Tuesday to the nonprofit's Portland office.
The staff oversaw 1,400 surgical abortions last year, services that helped make Lane County the second-largest abortion provider in the state.
"I can only celebrate," said Gayle Atteberry, head of Oregon Right to Life said. "Fewer unborn children will be killed."
The closure comes at a time when abortion access is shrinking across the nation. According to The Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York, the number of medical staff offering surgical abortions declined 14 percent between 1992 and 1996. Meanwhile, 86 percent of all U.S. counties lack abortion providers.
"There's a constant threat of violence, legal harassment, legislative restrictions," said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation. "So this is a lot more challenging than running a dentist's office."
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