An all-trimester abortion clinic prepares to open in Maryland, one of few nationally

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On a steamy morning in late July, a moving truck maneuvers up to a brick office complex in College Park, Md., outside Washington, D.C.

Shrink-wrapped inside the truck are the workings of a clinic that will offer abortions through all trimesters of pregnancy: an ultrasound machine, recovery room chairs, patient gowns, and boxes upon boxes of medical instruments and equipment.

"I'm looking at this and really glad we got the 26-foot truck, 'cause it's a ton of stuff!" says Dr. Diane Horvath, an obstetrician-gynecologist and co-owner of the upcoming clinic, Partners in Abortion Care.

When it opens sometime after Labor Day, Partners in Abortion Care will be one of only a handful of clinics in the United States that offer abortions into the third trimester — in this case, up to 34 weeks' gestation. A full-term pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks.

The clinic expects to treat an influx of patients coming north from states with abortion bans enacted after the Supreme Court decision in June that overturned Roe v. Wade.

All-trimester abortion care "is a really politicized topic," Horvath says, "and it shouldn't be. Every time we draw a line and we say 'no more abortions after this point,' someone's going to fall on the other side of that line, and they're going to be harmed."