Abortion Wait Time Increases for Residents of an Abortion-Supportive State after Changing Abortion Legislation

Introduction: Since 2021, state legislative restrictions like Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8), followed by the U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (Dobbs) decision, led to a surge of people traveling for abortion care. This study sought to describe the association between changing abortion legislation and appointment wait times for New Mexico residents at the University of New Mexico Center for Reproductive Health (CRH). Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of New Mexico residents scheduling first-trimester abortion appointments at CRH. We compared the time from the initial scheduling call to initial appointment date (wait time) over three periods: pre-SB8 (2020), post-SB8 pre-Dobbs (2021), and post-Dobbs (2022). Results: After the Dobbs decision, New Mexico residents waited two weeks longer for abortion appointments and called for appointments over a week earlier in pregnancy on average than in the two previous years. Median wait times for appointments were 5.0 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 4.0) pre-SB8, 4.5 days (IQR: 5.0) post-SB8, and 23.0 days (IQR: 18.0) post-Dobbs. Conclusion: New Mexicans encountered a significant increase in first-trimester abortion appointment wait times after the Dobbs decision. This study highlights the importance of maintaining abortion access for state residents during an influx of out-of-state patients. This increase in wait time is especially disruptive in rural and underserved states where residents face significant baseline barriers to medical care.