With a heavy heart, carafem has decided to pause in-office appointments at its Mount Juliet health center in Tennessee due to the state’s complete abortion ban effective August 25, 2022. If you are a carafem client and need help, such as refilling your birth control prescription or accessing medical records, please call us at 1-855-729-2272. carafem still provides abortion care at our brick-and-mortar health centers in Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland, and offers online abortion care in 16 states.
We are honored to be able to provide 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 greatly value the meaningful relationships we have built with our patients, local communities, abortion advocates and funders, and fellow reproductive health providers in the South. As we discontinue office services in Tennessee, we want to take time to reflect on the last four years, celebrate our successes, and send our heartfelt love and gratitude to our staff, supporters, and ally.
Abortion care is a moral good — an act of community care and love — and an important part of the health care that carafem is honored to provide. All people deserve to have full control over their sexual and reproductive freedom, including access to abortion. 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 community in Tennessee, which has been left without access to legal abortion option 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 know that the need for abortion care is dire. In one day, an entire month of appointments was completely filled, further indicating the tremendous need for better access to abortion care in this community. For years, people have traveled long distances to our location in Atlanta, Georgia seeking abortion care, and we are excited to improve access to abortion for Tennesseans and everyone in the South .
However, within 48 hours of opening, the city commissioners of Mt. Juliet to illegally block our ability to provide abortion procedures. We sued the city for its blatant anti-abortion attack on reproductive freedom, and after a long legal battle, won the ability to offer surgical abortion. carafem is proud to have fought and won this victory for abortion seekers in Tennessee, allowing hundreds of people to decide and choose the best abortion option for them.
Our commitment to fighting for and providing access to abortion and reproductive health care does 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 in June reversed Roe v. Wadecarafem has kept its doors open so that we can continue to provide sexual and reproductive health care to our community, despite the complete ban on abortion care that began on August 25, 2022. Since then, we have provided essential services to reproductive health care such as ultrasounds, contraception, and STI testing and treatment without offering abortion care.
Despite trying to offer this important reproductive health care, carafem knows that the larger crisis in abortion care nationwide is where its attention should be focused, which is why the difficult decision was made to i -pause office services at Mt. Juliet center. carafem will continue to provide high-quality, compassionate abortion care at our brick-and-mortar health centers in Georgia, Illinois, and Maryland, and offers online abortion care in 16 states.
Testimonial Highlights for our Mt. Juliet Health Center
We are proud of the quality of service that carafem has provided in Tennessee for the past four years. Our clients continue to emphasize how grateful they are for the compassion and care they receive from carafem staff. Here is a small example of the thousands of people who have been affected by the high quality abortion care carafem has 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 still want to receive abortion care at a carafem location, we can help connect you with 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, DC Location
Chevy Chase, MD
(855) 729-2272
Schedule Online
These resources can help you find an abortion provider or funder, 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 call us at 1-855-SAY-CARA.
