Healthcare providers take an oath to do no harm, but when it comes to abortion care, we have to go beyond that.
We have to actively shield our patients from legal threats, digital surveillance, and the ever-present specter of violence. We must turn our clinics into safe havens, not just medical spaces.
That means understanding what we’re really up against. It means recognizing that the systems meant to “protect” people often do the exact opposite. It means ensuring that the people who walk through our doors leave whole, not just physically well, but emotionally and legally protected.
Clinic Safety: More Than Locked Doors
I’ve run an independent abortion clinic for over a decade, and I’ve learned that security is about much more than cameras and locked doors.
When I talk to my staff, I remind them we are not cops.
We are not here to interrogate or scrutinize. We are here to care for patients, and part of that care means keeping them safe from law enforcement, from protestors, and from the state itself.
One of the simplest ways to protect patients is to control clinic access. That means:
- Keeping the door between the waiting room and the clinic locked unless we know exactly who is coming through.
- Ensuring staff understand their rights when it comes to law enforcement—no one should be let in without a valid warrant.
- Training reception staff to de-escalate situations without putting themselves at risk.
The National Abortion Federation has clear security guidelines for clinics, but too many independent providers are left to figure this out on their own. The reality is that abortion clinics have faced targeted violence for decades—bombings, arson, and assassinations of providers. And yet, many public figures still pretend that we are the ones harming people.
And here’s something else we need to talk about: the lessons we can learn from immigrant safe spaces. Clinics that serve undocumented patients have had to implement strict confidentiality policies and protocols to prevent ICE raids.
The same strategies can and should be applied to abortion care. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides training on protecting patients from state overreach, and those same principles should be required reading for abortion providers.
The Digital Threat: Your Phone Is a Snitch
If your patients are traveling for abortion care, your phone could be telling on them.
Most people don’t realize that location data, search history, and even period-tracking apps can be used against them. Anti-abortion states are already looking for ways to criminalize people who help patients get care across state lines. And tech companies? They are not on our side.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a guide on protecting digital privacy for abortion seekers. Here are the essentials:
- Turn off location tracking before traveling to a clinic.
- Use encrypted messaging apps like Signal instead of texting.
- Search in private mode or use a VPN to avoid data tracking.
The Digital Defense Fund exists to help ensure digital safety. They help clinics and patients keep their medical information private, which in this era of bounty-hunter abortion laws is not just a precaution. It’s a necessity.
Trauma-Informed Care: We Are Not the Enemy
Some people walk into a clinic readyg for a fight. Not with us—but with themselves. They have internalized so much shameand stigma that they expect us to treat them as poorly as they have been treating themselves.
I tell my staff: Don’t take it personally.
When a patient lashes out, it’s rarely about us. It’s about the noise in their head. It’s about the judgment they expect from the world, even when they’re in a place that offers them safety.
We never want to escalate a situation. We meet people where they are, even if they’re scared, angry, or defensive. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has a wealth of information on trauma-informed care, and every abortion provider should be using it.
The Real Impact of Clinic Policies
Let’s talk about the small, everyday ways clinics make access more complicated without realizing it. Does your clinic have any of the following policies?
- The strict “15 minutes late and you’re out” policy? That punishes people without reliable transportation.
- No kids allowed in the waiting room? That’s an impossible barrier for single parents with no childcare.
- Rigid appointment scheduling? That makes it harder for people who work hourly jobs or can’t get time off.
These policies aren’t always within a provider’s control but reflect a system-wide failure to center the people who need care the most. We should advocate for policy changes recognizing the realities of our patients’ lives.
The SisterSong Reproductive Justice Collective lays it out clearly: true reproductive justice isn’t just about abortion access. It’s about making sure people can use the care available.
What Comes Next? Protecting the Future of Abortion Care
So, what do we do? How do we push back against the relentless attempts to criminalize providers, punish patients, and stigmatize abortion care?
Here’s where we start:
- Support independent clinics. Big organizations like Planned Parenthood play an important role, but independent clinics provide the majority of abortion care in this country. They need funding, advocacy, and protection. Support groups like the National Network of Abortion Funds and your local independent abortion clinic
- Push for stronger shield laws. If you live in a state with protective laws, demand they go further. If you don’t, advocate for their passage. These laws protect both patients and providers.
- Educate, educate, educate. Many people still don’t know that they can get abortion pills by mail, even in some states with abortion bans. Spread the word. Share resources. Don’t let misinformation win.
The Necessary Fight
We are not just here to avoid harm. We are here to actively protect our patients and ensure those who come to us for care leave stronger than when they walked in.
That sometimes means taking a stand—not just for the right to provide care, but for the right of every person who needs it to access it without fear, without barriers, and without shame.
This fight is not theoretical. It’s not happening in some distant future. It is happening right now—in courtrooms, state legislatures, digital spaces, and in the lives of real people navigating a healthcare system that too often fails them. The question is not whether these attacks will continue. The question is whether we will stand firm in the face of them.
This is a moment for courage, not hesitation. The forces working to dismantle reproductive freedom are relentless, but so are we.
