Manifestations of Hatred for Abortion Providers in the United States: Causes, Trends, and Contexts

Abortion access in the U.S. has declined 45% since its 1982 peak, partly due to rising harassment, intimidation, and violence against abortion providers. Within a few years of the Roe v. Wade decision, clinic bombings and arson, patient intimidation, and direct attacks and threats on abortion providers commenced. Abortion providers were the first group of healthcare professionals singled out as targets of violence to achieve a social agenda; more recently, politicization of the Covid-19 pandemic unleashed violence and harassment of health officials implementing mask and vaccine protocols. Several theories have been advanced about why abortion providers are victimized, namely: anti-abortion activists felt frustrated that their agenda did not materialize; white supremacists use anti-abortion rhetoric to unite with fundamentalist religions; and abortion restrictions, media misrepresentations, and heated rhetoric galvanize protestors to become “haters.” In the face of the impending overturning of Roe v. Wade, more research is needed about the determinants of abortion provider hatred and whether violence will escalate. Our multidisciplinary research team—composed of faculty and students from public health and medicine—seeks a seed grant to refine our questions and methods, collect preliminary data, and develop a full-scale proposal to study trends and contexts for abortion provider hatred.