Whole Woman’s Health Alliance (WWHA) has officially opened the doors to Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, a new non-profit 501(c)(3) clinic, and will begin seeing patients on February 24, 2022. Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota will be located at 8053 E Bloomington Fwy, Suite 450, Bloomington, MN, right near the intersection of 494 and 35W and just minutes from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport.

Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota provides first and second trimester in-clinic abortion procedures to 18 weeks of gestational age, with plans to expand to 24 weeks in the future. The clinic also provides medication abortion care, also known as abortion pills, to 11 weeks. In addition to high-quality health care services, clinic staff create an individualized experience and help patients shed personal and cultural shame and/or stigma around abortion care and offer care with the respect and dignity all people deserve.

“As a native Minnesotan, I am proud of our commitment to progressive values and of our well-deserved reputation for fabulous healthcare. I know it is the exact right time for Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota to step up and ensure that safe abortion care is available; particularly as U.S. states pass a historic number of anti-abortion restrictions and bans,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, President and CEO of WWH and WWHA. “Whole Woman’s Health Alliance will do our part to make abortion access in this North Star haven state a reality for Minnesotans and folks from far and wide who may migrate to our state for safe abortion care in the coming months and years.”

In December 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a case that directly challenges Roe v. Wade. A decision will be released by June 2022, and experts are expecting Roe v. Wade to be weakened or overturned. The landscape for abortion access is already dire in the Upper Midwest and South. In 2022 alone, 39 state legislatures have filed more than 230 bills restricting abortion access. Minnesota’s neighbors — North Dakota and South Dakota — have only one abortion clinic each. They also have “trigger laws,” which will ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade is struck down this summer. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa also have a multitude of restrictions on abortion. Even in Minnesota, which is considered a North Star for abortion rights, there is a mandated 24-hour waiting period and parental notification laws. In the South, Texans have been denied safe abortion care since September 1, 2021 because of Senate Bill 8 (SB 8). WWH and WWHA are at the center of a major lawsuit challenging SB 8 that has already reached the Supreme Court of the United States: Whole Woman’s Health, WWHA, et al. v. Jackson.

Our new clinic represents a significant step toward true reproductive freedom in the United States and WWHA’s plan to ensure compassionate, stigma-free abortion care is available in the South and Midwest. Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota aims to provide direct patient care to Midwesterners, Texans and other folks from across the U.S. grappling with abortion bans. The clinic is close to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport, where nearly every U.S. state has direct routes, and is right at the intersection of Interstate highways 35W and 494.

“In these times when abortion rights, health, and justice are under attack, Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota will serve as a safe haven for abortion care,” said Sean Mehl, Associate Director of Clinical Services for Whole Woman’s Health. “We will be working with abortion funds and allies all over the South and Midwest to help pregnant people migrate out of their state to get the abortion they need that they’re being denied in the place they call home.”

Whole Woman’s Health (WWH) has a long history in Minnesota. Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota started with the acquisition of the Midwest Health Center for Women in February 2012, followed by the acquisition of the Meadowbrook Women’s Clinic in November 2012. WWH merged the two clinic sites and has operated an independent abortion care practice in Minnesota for the last 10 years. In January of this year, WWHA acquired Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota. WWHA Board of Directors moved to take over operations of this clinic to fortify Abortion care in MN as abortion bans and restrictions continue to be passed at record rates around the country. WWHA is a member of the UnRestrict Minnesota Coalition and the Reproductive Health Alliance (RHA), which is made up of more than 30 family planning clinics throughout Minnesota.

WWHA will carry WWH’s legacy forward with a non-profit model and continue to operate an independent abortion care practice in Minnesota. This clinic joins the WWHA’s family of nonprofit clinics, located in Austin, TX, Charlottesville, VA, and South Bend, IN.

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About Whole Woman’s Health: Whole Woman’s Health (WWH) is a privately-owned healthcare organization, committed to providing holistic reproductive health care. Clinics managed by WWH provide comprehensive gynecology services, including abortion care, in the South and the Midwest, where access to abortion is most restricted. It is our philosophy that everyone must be at the center of their own healthcare decisions, and that treating patients holistically will better serve and improve health and happiness in our communities. WWH manages 9 clinics, located in: Austin, TX, Fort Worth, TX, McAllen, TX, McKinney, TX, Bloomington, MN, Baltimore, MD, South Bend, IN, Charlottesville, VA, and Alexandria, VA. WWH also offers virtual abortion care services in New Mexico, Virginia and Minnesota. For more information: www.wholewomanshealth.com

About Whole Woman’s Health Alliance: Whole Woman’s Health Alliance (WWHA) works to strategically shift the stigma around abortion in our culture and is committed to fostering open and honest conversations, lifting all communities, and transforming the abortion care environment. WWHA is a 501(c)3 organization leading powerful stigma eradication, culture change and community education work across the United States. The work is rooted in and informed by direct service work delivering high quality abortion care around the country. WWHA’s largest programs are the operation of clinics in Austin, TX, Bloomington, MN, Charlottesville, VA, and South Bend, IN. We are committed to maintaining clinics in challenging places where access to quality abortion care is under attack. For more information: www.wholewomanshealthalliance.org