--- description: Find out why Julie Burkhart is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Julie Burkhart: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfe917e414ca6261/6998c5c266d4e3e23ccbc607/time100-2025-julie-burkhart.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Julie Burkhart by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/) ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent  Julie Burkhart, at an independent clinic she recently opened in Casper, Wyoming. She is determined to improve access to abortion in underserved communities. Many abortion providers feel that Planned Parenthood's cautious and corporate approach forces independent clinics to take the biggest risks. Julie Burkhart, at an independent clinic she recently opened in Casper, Wyoming. She is determined to improve access to abortion in underserved communities. Many abortion providers feel that Planned Parenthood's cautious and corporate approach forces independent clinics to take the biggest risks.Dina Litovsky—Redux Julie Burkhart has been fighting for decades to provide abortions in some of the most rural and conservative areas of the U.S. After Wyoming banned abortion in 2022, she joined other advocates to [challenge the ban](https://time.com/6185519/abortion-clinics-travel-state-borders/ "undefined"), and opened Wellspring Health Access, the state’s only full-service abortion clinic. In 2024, a judge ruled in Wellspring’s favor, declaring the near total ban unconstitutional. But in February, the governor signed new legislation requiring abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers, forcing Wellspring to stop providing abortions while it challenges the regulation in court. The clinic is still open, taking phone calls and talking to patients even if it can’t provide abortion services. Burkhart is no stranger to the ups and downs of this fight—she has faced arson, death threats, and legal obstacles while starting clinics in Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. She’s now the co-owner of Hope Clinic in Illinois, which has seen a 700% increase in out-of-state patients since abortion restrictions went into effect in neighboring states. Burkhart is devoted to making sure patients can get abortion care, no matter where they live. _Alter is a TIME senior correspondent_ Julie Burkhart Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273738/julie-burkhart/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273738/julie-burkhart/"},"headline":"Julie Burkhart","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:46:33.772Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273738/julie-burkhart/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfe917e414ca6261/6998c5c266d4e3e23ccbc607/time100-2025-julie-burkhart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"creator":"Charlotte Alter","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdfe917e414ca6261/6998c5c266d4e3e23ccbc607/time100-2025-julie-burkhart.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273738/julie-burkhart/","name":"Julie Burkhart"}}]}] ```