National Abortion Federation releases annual report detailing clinic threats
As the Trump Administration discourages FACE Act prosecutions, the number of obstructions and trespassing incidents has increased.
The National Abortion Federation released its annual study revealing the level of antiabortion violence and harassment that clinics face in the United States.
This year’s interactive report compares the violence and disruption that NAF members reported in 2023 & 2024 to the total data NAF has tracked since 1977. The report features “heat maps” demonstrating the states where providers reported experiencing the highest levels of obstruction, protesters, threats, and trespassing. The report includes an audio storyteller map where viewers can click through and hear directly from providers at clinics nationwide about their experiences with violence and disruption.
“Harassment and violence shouldn’t be just part of the job for abortion providers,” said Melissa Fowler, Chief Program Officer at the National Abortion Federation. “NAF has been compiling incidents of violence and disruption against abortion providers for almost 50 years, and in that time, there has been an organized and relentless campaign of harassment, terror, and violence targeting our members.”
The most significant shift is in the manner in which clinics deal with antiabortion vandals and harassers. Over the last two years, they documented 777 incidents of obstruction. The number of incidents in 2024 was an increase over 2023, but a decline over previous years, likely a result of clinic closures following abortion bans. Many sites that previously experienced the highest activity levels are no longer operating.
Trespassing is frequent at many clinics, and in 2023 and 2024, clinics reported 621 trespassing incidents. There are often only minor penalties associated with trespassing, which is one of the reasons the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act is so critical for ensuring access to clinics.
Former President Bill Clinton signed the FACE Act in 1994 as a response to the murder of Dr. David Gunn, an abortion doctor in Florida. In January, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department ordered its staff to curtail prosecutions under the FACE Act.
Many clinic staff and patients encounter anti-abortion protesters outside of facilities. Protesters often use graphic, angry, and inflammatory rhetoric and behaviors meant to threaten, intimidate, and instill fear in clinic staff and patients. Providers reported 128,570 protesters over 2023 and 2024, which we know is a vast underestimation.
In the last two years, there have been 296 incidents of death threats or other threats of harm aimed at abortion providers and patients.
Here are some of the key findings from this year’s report:
621 cases of trespassing in 2023/2024 and 9,648 since 1977
777 obstructions in 2023/2024 and 18,329 since 1977
296 death threats / threats of harm in 2023/2024 and 1,652 since 1977
128,570 picketing in 2023/2024 and 1,023,487 since 1977
37 cases of stalking in 2023/2024 and 781 since 1977
38 cases of assault and battery in 2023/2024 and 570 since 1977
17 thefts in 2023/2024 and 392 since 1977
3 arsons in 2023/2024 and 203 since 1977
3 attempted arsons in 2023/2024 and 109 since 1977
30 hoax devices / suspicious packages in 2023/2024 and 489 since 1977
12 bomb threats in 2023/2024 and 699 since 1977