After more than 50 years of helping women to have safe abortions at my private medical practice, Boulder Abortion Clinic, we have closed and have stopped scheduling patients. This was a very difficult decision with many factors, as this practice is my life's work. It has given me and others helping me great satisfaction and meaning in our lives. It could not have happened without my superb staff of highly professional and dedicated doctors, nurses, counselors, lab technicians, patient coordinators, administrative staff, records managers, and others beginning on January 22, 1975.
Many of those doing this work with me have been with me for decades. They have shown the utmost courage and commitment to the women who have been our patients in the face of great personal danger from the constant threat of lethal anti-abortion violence that we have experienced. They have shown great personal strength in supporting women and their families in the worst moments of their lives.
It has been a privilege to do this work for almost 55 years. It has been a privilege to know the many exceptional people in this field who were and are devoted to the highest standards of medical care for women and who are dedicated to the fundamental principle of reproductive freedom for everyone.
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. When I have a patient, I can't do anything else. Her safety and well-being is my priority. Nothing else matters while her life is at stake. I must now leave this sacred commitment to others.
I remain committed to reproductive freedom for women, and I will find other ways to support that.
Warren M. Hern, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Director, Boulder Abortion Clinic
