“When I went to bed,I had my appointment and everything was set,and then today it’s like pre-1973,” the woman said,speaking on condition of anonymity because she feared her parents would disown her if they knew she was planning to have an abortion.
It is a scene that was playing out across the United States this weekend in the nine states with trigger laws,which quickly outlawed abortion,as well as in West Virginia and Wisconsin,where officials are trying to determine whether century-old bans may now be valid again.
The attorney general in West Virginia said on Friday that he would soon issue an opinion on the legal status of abortion in his state.
For medical providers,abortion clinics and pregnant women,the shift has been sudden and jarring. Clinics have cancelled appointments out of fear of prosecution. Women are scrambling to find treatment in neighbouring states. And advocates are trying to raise money to transport women to clinics that remain open but are often far away.
In Arkansas,where a trigger law banning abortions went into effect on Friday,17 patients had been scheduled for abortions at Little Rock Family Planning Services,but none were performed before the Supreme Court’s decision shut down operations. About 30 more patients had been scheduled for an ultrasound and a consultation that were required under Arkansas’ previous law before women could get an abortion.
Lori Williams,the clinic director,said some patients had travelled from Texas and Oklahoma. Clinic employees had to contact patients and tell them not to come for their appointments.