Pregnant Minnesotans postpone abortion appointments to avoid ICE
Source: Salon
Published February 17, 2026 6:00AM (EST)
Pregnant immigrants in Minnesota have been postponing their abortions, skipping aftercare, and delaying birth control visits and urgent cancer screening follow-ups to avoid coming in contact with federal immigration agents. Medical providers say the federal operation which the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement raid has cut off access to time-sensitive reproductive health care, delays that can result in more complicated and expensive care.
Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that the operation now in its third month is coming to a close, saying that only a small footprint will remain in the state. Since December 1, Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota have seen their no-show rate increase by about 8.2 percent, a notable increase that the organization attributes to the prolonged federal offensive, said Ruth Richardson, CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, which operates health centers in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska.
There is just a tremendous sense of fear in this moment, Richardson said. Planned Parenthood staff said it was the largest no-show spike they could identify in recent years. Disproportionately, patients who have skipped or canceled appointments are those scheduled for family planning services, an umbrella category including contraception, wellness visits, cancer screening and testing for sexually transmitted infections, per data shared by Planned Parenthood.
But increased cancellations are happening across the board including with some patients in their first trimester of pregnancy, said Dr. Sarah Traxler, the organizations chief medical officer. Though abortion is safe, it becomes more complicated and more expensive as a pregnancy progresses, particularly through the second trimester.
Read more: https://www.salon.com/2026/02/17/pregnant-patients-in-minnesota-have-postponed-abortion-appointments-to-avoid-ice-partner/
Link to "The 19th" ARTICLE - Pregnant patients in Minnesota have postponed abortion appointments to avoid ICE
Whyisthisstillclose
(551 posts)We will never know the complete toll.
riversedge
(80,200 posts)This is so cruel!
...........The Trump administration has rescinded a Biden-era policy that barred immigration officials from targeting health care providers, opening the door to raids conducted at or near medical centers. Immigration agents have been in close proximity to Planned Parenthood affiliates and have briefly come to one of the organizations health centers, Richardson said. Whole Womans Health, another abortion provider, has not seen immigration agents on site, but is located near apartment buildings that have been targeted by federal officials.
IronLionZion
(51,045 posts)MAGA really hates when nonwhites are born in the USA. They get visibly enraged about it and make up complete BS to "disqualify" our citizenship on the basis of brown skin.
Marcuse
(8,871 posts)Anchor babies.
Bayard
(29,113 posts)Would probably have no problem arresting an immigrant mother and newborn baby, or sending them to one of their hell holes here.