FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, June 26, 2025

CONTACT: Kristofer Eisenla, LUNA+EISENLA

kristofer@lunaeisenla.com | 202-670-5747 mobile

CASPER, WY & GRANITE CITY, IL — Julie Burkhart, national abortion rights advocate and the founder and president of Wellspring Health Access – the first and only clinic in Wyoming offering both procedural and medication abortion and co-owner of the Hope Clinics in Illinois—issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that could potentially strip Medicaid patients of the freedom to choose their healthcare provider and threatens to effectively defund Planned Parenthood, which relies heavily on Medicaid funding.

• “The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling, allowing states to strip Medicaid coverage from reproductive health clinics, is a blow to people’s ability to access quality healthcare coverage and impacts those most greatly who live in areas that are already classified as healthcare deserts.
• “The decision has a profound impact on those who may face difficulties accessing other healthcare providers, which only serves to put those individuals, their families and communities at greater risk. Collectively, we must stand up for working people who are directly affected and penalized by this Court’s decision. 
• “This is devastating news for the women of America who are seeking legal, safe and accessible healthcare.”

Despite 14 out of 17 states supporting abortion rights referendums since the Dobbs decision (over 80%), President Trump and anti-abortion rights lawmakers – both nationally and in red states like Wyoming – aim to restrict further a woman’s ability to access reproductive care, including the recent action with the president’s executive order pardoning anti-abortion extremists who have been convicted of illegal activity against abortion clinics.

Burkhart was recently named to both the 2025 TIME100 and TIME100 Health lists of the most influential people. She was also profiled by the New York Times as the “only person in America to open an abortion clinic in a state that bans abortion,” and featured by US News, “The Lone Surgical Abortion Clinic in Wyoming Has a Message For America,” about her life-long work in abortion care while offering insights into the road ahead following the 2024 presidential election.

She has a long history in reproductive health care leadership, serving previously as senior advisor to the late Dr. George Tiller, a prominent Wichita, KS abortion provider who was tragically assassinated for continuing to perform abortions. Following his death, Burkhart founded Trust Women to continue his legacy.

Burkhart serves as president of Wellspring Health Access, which operates its first reproductive health clinic in Casper, Wyoming. She is also the co-owner of Hope Clinics, which are based in Granite City and Chicago, Illinois, and has previously operated clinics in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Washington state.

Please contact Kristofer Eisenla at kristofer@lunaeisenla.com to speak with Julie Burkhart

# # #

Wellspring Health Access

Wellspring Health Access is located in Casper, WY, and received national prominence after opening in 2023 by founder Julie Burkhart, even after the legislature passed a bill attempting to ban the procedure.  Wellspring Health Access is the only remaining abortion clinic left in the state and the only procedural and medication abortion facility in Wyoming.  Led by a team of dedicated reproductive health care experts, Wellspring Health Access proudly stands as a clinic bringing abortion care to underserved areas.  More information at wellspringaccess.org

About Julie Burkhart

Julie Burkhart is a longtime national abortion rights leader and the only person in America to have opened an abortion clinic in a state that has banned abortion. She is the former advisor to legendary abortion doctor, Dr. George Tiller, and founded Trust Women, an abortion access organization, in 2009 in the wake of his assassination. Ms. Burkhart is also the founder and president of Wellspring Health Access clinic in Wyoming and co-owner of Hope Clinics in Illinois, which offers critical health care and abortion services.  She was also named to the TIME100 and TIME100 Health most influential people lists in 2025.