One of America’s most controversial late-term abortion facilities has closed after 50 years, as its 87-year-old founder cites mounting financial pressures and inability to find a successor.

At a Glance

• The Boulder Abortion Clinic in Colorado, founded by Dr. Warren Hern in 1975, has permanently closed after a half-century of operations
• The clinic was one of the few facilities in the United States that openly advertised and performed third-trimester abortions
• Financial issues forced the closure, with procedures costing around $10,000 and decreasing donor support
• Dr. Hern, 87, expressed desire to retire but remains “committed to reproductive freedom”
• Colorado continues to allow abortions up to birth, with a recent ballot measure enshrining these rights in the state constitution

Financial Pressures Force Closure of Longstanding Abortion Facility

The Boulder Abortion Clinic, one of the nation’s few facilities openly performing late-term abortions, has permanently closed its doors after operating for five decades. Dr. Warren Hern, who founded the clinic in 1975 just two years after the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide, cited mounting financial difficulties as the primary reason for shuttering the controversial facility. At 87 years old, Dr. Hern was unable to find a successor to continue the practice, which specialized in performing abortions beyond 28 weeks of pregnancy.

According to notices posted on the clinic’s website, patients are no longer being scheduled. The clinic’s financial challenges stemmed from the high cost of its procedures, with late-term abortions priced around $10,000, making them inaccessible to many women without substantial insurance coverage. Additionally, Dr. Hern noted a significant decline in personal donations that had previously helped sustain the clinic’s operations. The closure represents the end of a facility that had become a lightning rod in the national abortion debate.

Controversial Legacy and Specialized Care

Throughout its existence, the Boulder Abortion Clinic distinguished itself by openly advertising third-trimester abortion services, legal under Colorado’s permissive abortion laws. Dr. Hern maintained that these late-term procedures were performed in serious cases rather than on demand, telling The New Yorker last year, “I am not an abortion-dispensing machine. I’m a physician, and there are things I will do and things I will not.”

“After more than 50 years… we have closed and have stopped scheduling patients,” a notice written by Dr. Hern and posted to the Boulder Abortion Clinic facility’s website states.

However, reports indicate Dr. Hern has acknowledged performing abortions up to 32 weeks and beyond, with some cases involving fetal anomalies and others for different reasons, including sex selection. According to detailed accounts in The Atlantic, Hern’s methods sometimes involved intact fetuses or removal in parts. For many years, he was reportedly the only abortionist performing such late-term procedures, making his clinic a destination for women seeking specialized services unavailable elsewhere.

Colorado’s Abortion Landscape Continues

Despite the closure of this prominent facility, Colorado remains one of nine states plus Washington, DC, that have no gestational limits on abortion. The state recently bolstered abortion access by passing a ballot measure that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution. While fewer than 20 clinics nationwide perform abortions after 24 weeks, Colorado continues to be a destination for those seeking later-term procedures.

“Although I love my work, I have wanted for years to be free from the operating room and the daily cares of a private medical practice,” Hern wrote in his statement about the facility’s closure, adding that while he must “leave this sacred commitment to others,” he is still “committed to reproductive freedom [sic] for women” and “will find other ways to support that.”

Dr. Hern’s controversial views extend beyond abortion practice. He has described humanity as a “malignant ecotumor” and proposed renaming humans as “Homo ecophagus.” Pro-life organizations like Oregon Right to Life have long opposed his work, advocating for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. The closure marks the end of a facility that represented a focal point in America’s contentious abortion debate for half a century.