We are honored to share that Julie Burkhart has been named to the TIME100 Health 2025 list, which highlights leaders reshaping health care in America and around the world.
Julie’s work has always been rooted in perseverance and an unshakable commitment to reproductive freedom. In May 2022—just weeks before Wellspring Health Access was set to open as Wyoming’s only full-service abortion clinic—an arsonist set fire to the building. Despite the devastating setback, Julie and her team rebuilt, challenged Wyoming’s near-total abortion ban, and successfully opened the clinic in April 2023. The following year, Wellspring won a major court victory when a judge declared the ban unconstitutional.
The challenges did not end there. In early 2024, new legislation forced Wellspring to pause abortion services by requiring clinics to meet ambulatory surgical center standards—restrictions advocates argue are medically unnecessary and politically motivated. Yet, in April, a judge ruled that Wellspring could resume services while the case proceeds, ensuring patients once again have access to vital care.
Julie’s fight for access has never been easy. She has faced arson, death threats, and legal hurdles across Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Today, she also serves as co-owner of Hope Clinic in Illinois, which has seen a 700% increase in out-of-state patients since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Her upbringing in rural Oklahoma gave her a deep understanding of marginalized communities, fueling her commitment to ensuring abortion access regardless of geography, background, or income.
As Julie told TIME:
“Abortion access is punted around like a political football, and it’s on the backs of the women and the people who need abortion care. It has real consequences on people’s lives.”
Julie’s inclusion in TIME100 Health is a powerful recognition of her unwavering leadership and her dedication to making reproductive health care available to all.