Medical professionals in Virginia are anticipating an influx of out-of-state patients once new, tighter restrictions on abortion access go into effect in neighboring states. News4’s Drew Wilder reports.
Medical professionals in Virginia are anticipating an influx of out-of-state patients once new, tighter restrictions to abortion access go into effect in neighboring states around the South.
In North Carolina, a 12-week abortion ban goes into effect on July 1.
Last week, South Carolina's governor signed a six-week abortion ban into law. The bill was paused the next day because of a lawsuit challenging the bill.
As of May 31, Virginia allows access to an abortion until early in the third trimester. That makes Virginia the southernmost state that hasn't changed its abortion laws since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.
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Still, advocates warn tighter restrictions in other states could spell negative consequences in the commonwealth.
A study by the nonprofit Society of Family Planning -- which advocates for abortion rights -- found that two months after Roe v. Wade was overturned and tighter restrictions were triggered in Georgia, neighboring North Carolina saw abortion rise by 37%.
More people traveling, trying to access abortion provided by the same number of clinics and medical professionals, could create a backlog in Virginia.
"We anticipate that there will be increased wait times for Virginians seeking care as a result of these bans in other states," said Jamie Lockhart, a member of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
And those longer wait times increase the risk of maternal mortality, especially among Black and Hispanic women, according to a study compiled by the National Institute of Health and published in 2022.
Virginia Democrats are stressing that women's reproductive rights are on the ballot this November, when every seat in the state legislature is up for re-election.
"The stakes are just too high. We cannot let this happen in Virginia," said Jennifer Boysko, a Democratic state senator representing Loudoun County.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a 15-week ban that fell flat in a state Senate committee when a fellow Republican and practicing OB-GYN said she had reservations about the extent of the bill.
Siobhan Dunnavant, a Republican state senator representing Henrico County, said the bill needed an exception to the ban up to 24 weeks for fetuses with severe abnormalities.
"Without that exception, I'm going to have to PBI the bill," Dunnavant said -- PBI, meaning "pass by indefinitely."
Youngkin has said he will pursue his 15-week ban with some exceptions again. If Republicans win full control of the Virginia House during the 2023 fall election, the path through the General Assembly for that bill becomes much easier.
"Abortion access is being devastated across the South, and Virginians are at risk of losing the right of reproductive freedom," Lockhart said.
