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The founder and owner of one of the first and largest abortion clinics in the United States, Merle Hoffman, held a press conference Tuesday to discuss her study that found abortions in the United States are on the rise.

According to Hoffman, as the economy continues to decline, abortions continue to rise. Her study found that 73 percent of women who had an abortion reported that the reason was due to their economic situation.

Hoffman told TheDC that there will be “free states” and “slave states” if President Obama loses the 2012 election to any of the current Republican presidential candidates.

“Each and every candidate has specified unequivocally that they would overturn Roe v. Wade. And if in fact they were in the power of the presidency and had the ability to do that … we can see a pre-Roe reality … where you’d have a country where there, in my mind, are free states and slave states,” said Hoffman.

“Women would be coming in droves to the free states … more and more women would attempt to have illegal abortions. Where going to have things like underground railroads to help these women,” she said.

“We’re looking at a very dim future if any of these Republican candidates occupy that Oval Office.”

Watch:

Videography by Sarah Hofmann

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