Spread of abortion restrictions in South puts pressure on Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. — (AP) — As more Southern states pass new restrictions on abortion, Virginia is poised to become an outlier in the region for its relatively permissive laws, setting up the state as a destination for women seeking abortions and raising questions about providers' capacity to meet demand.
South Carolina is among the last bastions in the region for those seeking legal abortions, but that status could end soon. Access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy — often before women know they're pregnant — under a bill expected to come up for a vote in the House on Wednesday. The state Senate, which previously rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw abortions, could give final passage next week.
And most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will be banned in North Carolina beginning July 1 after the state's Republican-controlled Legislature successfully overrode the Democratic governor's veto late Tuesday.
Abortion is banned or severely restricted in much of the South, including bans throughout pregnancy in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. In Georgia, it’s allowed only in the first six weeks. Farther west, women often travel to Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico or Colorado.
"It would be just devastating for abortion access in the South," Jamie Lockhart, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, said of the proposed six-week ban in South Carolina, the 12-week ban in North Carolina, and a six-week ban in Florida that will take effect only if the state's current 15-week ban is upheld by the state Supreme Court.
But North Carolina Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Republican, said she sees the 12-week ban and other restrictions in North Carolina's new law as “safeguards,” not obstacles to abortion.
https://www.wokv.com/news/national/spread-abortion/AYSQWDBDXG5ZEDWMUKYDRXBIMY/