On May 6th, 2022, Merle Hoffman was featured on PIX11. Here is an excerpt from the below:

Abortion-rights advocates prepare for more out-of-state patients

Abortion-rights activists in New York expect more than a quarter of a million out-of-state women to come to New York seeking abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Perhaps as many as 22 states plan to limit abortions if that happens.

“I wasn’t shocked or surprised,” said Merle Hoffman, an abortion-rights activist. “I have seen it coming. And I was trying to tell everyone around me it’s coming.”

Hoffman has been on the front lines of the abortion battle for 51 years, even before Roe v. Wade became the law of the land. She founded and is president of Choices Women’s Medical Center in Queens, one of the first abortion clinics in the country.

Hoffman is now preparing for the possibility that Roe v. Wade will be overturned. “Not all women will be able to get abortions,” Hoffman said. “Some will be too poor. Others won’t get the information or cannot come to New York.”

Hoffman said she is already seeing more and more out-of-state women arriving at the Queens facility, specifically from Texas, Ohio, Alabama and Georgia, where abortion laws are growing more restrictive. While there are many volunteer groups to help out-of-state patients, they need more funds.