With heavy hearts, carafem has made the decision to pause in-office appointments in its Mount Juliet health center in Tennessee due to the state’s complete ban on abortion that has been in effect since August 25, 2022. If you are a carafem client and need assistance, such as a refill on your birth control prescription or access to medical records, please call us at 1-855-729-2272. carafem is still providing abortion care at our brick-and-mortar health centers in Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland, and offering online abortion care in 16 states.
It has been our absolute honor to have provided compassionate, high-quality abortion care in the Nashville area to thousands of people since carafem first opened our Mt. Juliet health center in 2019. We deeply value the meaningful relationships we have built with our patients, local community, abortion advocates and funds, and fellow reproductive health providers in the South. As we pause in-office services in Tennessee, we wanted to take the time to reflect on the last four years, celebrate our successes, and send our heartfelt love and gratitude to our staff, supporters, and allies.
Abortion care is a moral good — an act of community care and love — and a crucial part of health care that carafem is honored to provide. All people deserve to have full control over their sexual and reproductive freedom, including abortion access. We are outraged that anti-abortion extremists and politicians have enacted complete or near-total abortion bans in so many states, and our hearts break for our Tennessee community, who are left without access to legal abortion options in their state.
carafem is proud to have provided high-quality, compassionate abortion and reproductive health care in Tennessee since 2019
When carafem opened its Tennessee health center in February 2019, we were the only provider in the Nashville area offering abortion at the time, and we knew the need for abortion care was dire. Within one day, an entire month of appointments was completely filled, further signaling the immense need for better access to abortion care in this community. For years, people had been traveling long distances to our Atlanta, Georgia location looking for abortion care, and we were excited to improve abortion access for Tennesseans and all people in the South.
However, within 48 hours of opening, Mt. Juliet city commissioners held an emergency session to illegally block our ability to provide procedural abortions. We sued the city for this blatant anti-abortion attack on reproductive freedom, and after a lengthy legal battle, won the ability to offer surgical abortion. carafem is proud to have fought and won this success for abortion seekers in Tennessee, which allowed hundreds of people to decide and choose the best abortion option for them.
Our commitment to fighting for and providing abortion access and reproductive health care did not stop there. When Tennessee Governor Lee signed an unconstitutional six-week abortion ban into law in 2020, A federal judge temporarily blocked the ban, and we joined other abortion providers and the ACLU to file a lawsuit.
Finally, after the devastating Dobbs decision last June that overturned Roe v. Wade, carafem kept its doors open so we could continue providing sexual and reproductive health care to our community, despite a complete ban on abortion care that began on August 25, 2022. Since then, we have provided essential reproductive health care services like ultrasounds, contraception, and STI testing and treatment without offering abortion care.
Despite working to offer this vital reproductive health care, carafem knows the larger, nationwide abortion care crisis is where its attention must be focused, which is why the difficult decision has been made to pause in-office services at the Mt. Juliet center. carafem will continue providing high quality, compassionate abortion care at our brick-and-mortar health centers in Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland, and offering online abortion care in 16 states.
Testimonial Highlights for our Mt. Juliet Health Center
We are proud of the quality of service carafem was able to provide in Tennessee for the past four years. Our clients consistently emphasized how grateful they were for the compassion and care they received from carafem staff. Here is a small example of the thousands of people who were impacted by the high-quality abortion care carafem brought to the community.
Resources for Sexual, Reproductive, and Abortion Care for Tennesseans
We want to highlight other providers where Tennesseans can receive sexual, reproductive, and abortion care.
If you’d like to still receive abortion care at a carafem location, we can help connect you to resources for travel support, financial assistance, and other logistics:
carafem At Home Abortion Care
Available in Illinois, Virginia, and 14 other states
(855) 729-2272
Schedule Online
carafem Chicago Location
Skokie, Illinois
(855) 729-2272
Schedule Online
carafem Atlanta Location
Atlanta, Georgia
(855) 729-2272
Schedule Online
carafem Washington, D.C. Location
Chevy Chase, MD
(855) 729-2272
Schedule Online
These resources can help you find an abortion provider or fund, as well as other sexual and reproductive health service providers:
As always, if you need an appointment for birth control, STI testing and treatment, or an abortion, you can schedule an appointment online or give us a call at 1-855-SAY-CARA.
