Julie Burkhart shares thoughts on abortion politics and care

Burkhart was recently named one of the most influential women in America by Time Magazine. She has been part of the movement for decades.

(Julie Burkhart)

Julie Burkhart landed on Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people because of her stature within the abortion rights movement. I recently spoke with her about her career as an abortion provider and what she thinks should happen next within the American political sphere regarding reproductive rights.

Burkhart is the owner and founder of Wellspring Health Access, which operates in Wyoming. She also operates clinics in Illinois, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

“There has to be a better strategy for reaching people who are in these nonurban, coastal cities,” Burkhart said. “People in this country cannot be forgotten and discarded. This is part of what is wrong with the Democratic Party.”

Burkhart detailed the impact of Roe v. Wade's overturn, noting a 700% increase in demand at her Illinois clinic, with 83% of patients from southern states. They ramped up their capacity and see patients six days a week. So they’ve been able to meet the demand.

Wellspring Health Access is the last clinic in Wyoming. It’s in Casper. The legislature passed a law recently requiring that the building dimensions of the abortion clinic be the same as those of an ambulatory surgical center. The staff had to close the building for renovations to widen hallways and make other adjustments. Doctors there also must have admitting privileges to a hospital within 10 miles of the facility.

Burkhart mentioned ongoing legal battles in Wyoming and the importance of re-establishing legal abortion rights nationwide. Two laws, the "Life is a Human Right Act" and the medication abortion ban, were deemed unconstitutional by a judge who ruled that they violated the state constitution's guarantee of the right to make one's own healthcare decisions. The case hinges on whether abortion is considered healthcare and who decides when life begins.

Those laws prevented her from operating her clinic for seven weeks. They managed to get an injunction on it and are once again operating. The state Supreme Court heard the case and will share its opinion soon.

Burkhart’s career intersected with Dr. George Tiller, who was a pioneer of abortion care and was murdered in Wichita in 2009 after a man shot him in his church. She endured the harassment he had while working with Tiller during the Summer of Mercy, a seminal moment in abortion history that took place in 1991. I interviewed her about those experiences for my book. She founded Trust Women, a political action committee, after Tiller died to advance the causes he cared about.

One of the things that I found poignant was how she said that an abortion provider can feel like an outcast in those communities, despite being frequently used and needed by people who live there.

“Abortion, pretty much wherever you go, across the board, is taboo. The fact of the matter is that who has an abortion is not tied to their political party registration. Everybody, no matter whether they’re Republican, Independent, Democrat, folks of all stripes need abortions at times.”