Cities are restricting abortions, too

City Lab -While states are making headlines for passing some of the most blatant restrictions to abortion, cities have found ways to restrict access, too. At the local level, lawmakers tend to use a quieter avenue for regulation: zoning. Since 2013, at least nine city governments have made changes to their land use codes that either shutter clinics or restrict their operation. For people in 151 urban areas in the U.S., the nearest abortion clinic is more than hour’s drive away.

In other words, access to abortion is a brick-and-mortar fight, in addition to being an ideological one. Targeted medical regulations and even anti-abortion protesters make it difficult for reproductive health providers to find places to rent in cities. That makes matters more complicated for cities that want to protect access to abortion. City Lab’s Sarah Holder has the story: The Subtle Ways Cities are Restricting Abortion Access