Florida is just hours away from its six-week abortion ban going into effect, largely cutting off abortion as an option for the thousands of patients whove traveled to the state for reproductive care following the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Starting Wednesday, patients in Florida, one of the countrys most populous states, will no longer have until the 15th week of pregnancy to access the procedure.

When the ban takes effect, nearly every Southern state will have outlawed abortion or made it inaccessible after six weeks since the first day of the last menstrual period a window of time when many dont yet know theyre pregnant. Floridas geographical isolation means many patients there will have to cross multiple state lines to get an abortion, and residents in neighboring states will often have to travel farther, too.

Virginia, the closest state to Florida with no gestational limits on abortion, takes anywhere from nine to 14 hours to drive to from the Sunshine State.