A new and rapidly shifting reality took hold across America on Saturday as abortion, a basic legal right for nearly a half century, was outlawed in some states, and the initial bursts of elation and shock from the overturning of Roe v. Wade gave way to action.
At abortion clinics across the country, providers hastily canceled appointments out of fear of prosecution, and stunned women abruptly made plans to cross state lines into places where abortion was still allowed — traveling from Missouri to Illinois, from Wisconsin to Minnesota.
In Arkansas, where a trigger law banning abortions went into effect on Friday, 17 patients had been scheduled for abortions on Friday 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 consultation that was required under Arkansas’ previous law before women could get an abortion.
The Yellowhammer Fund, which is based in Alabama and provides financial support to women seeking abortions, has received an influx of calls in the last day from people confused about the changing laws and seeking guidance and money to travel elsewhere for abortions.
“People who had appointments for next week no longer have appointments,” said Laurie Bertram Roberts, the executive director of the fund. “The person who runs the call line is very overwhelmed.”
Legal experts confronted a quickly changing landscape of abortion laws. In the newly redrawn map of the United States that was taking shape on Saturday, abortion was banned in at least nine states, prompting vows of swift enforcement from officials in conservative states. Prosecutors in liberal states and counties responded with defiance, saying they would not violate their own values by pursuing criminal cases against doctors who had performed abortions.
Demonstrations continued to roil cities across the country. Americans said they were steeling themselves for a fight in the wake of the court’s decision, whether that meant pushing for still more restrictions on abortion, or working to elect politicians in the midterm elections who favor abortion rights.
“I fear for my child. I worry that she isn’t going to have choice,” said Abbye Putterman, 36, who stood outside an abortion clinic in Overland Park, Kan., on Saturday and spoke of the impact the decision could have on her 12-year-old daughter. “I feel like a whole bunch of white men are trying to decide what my daughter should do. Those men don’t know anything about what it’s like to carry a child — what pregnancy does to your body.”
Abortion is still legal in Kansas but was banned in neighboring Missouri on Friday. In August, a ballot initiative will ask voters in Kansas to decide whether the State Constitution should continue to protect the right to an abortion.
Ms. Putterman was at the clinic to show support to the women receiving services there, while anti-abortion protesters gathered outside.
“We don’t believe in moral compromise, and we don’t want them to be guilty of murder,” said Valley Scharping, 26, who stood on the sidewalk. He held a sign that read “Love your preborn neighbor as yourself.”
On Saturday, President Biden spoke of the Roe decision. “Jill and I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans,” he said, adding that the administration would focus on states and “how they administer it and whether or not they violate other laws.”
Some states imposed new abortion restrictions on Saturday, and others tried to accelerate timelines for the bans to take place.
After the Supreme Court handed control over abortion restrictions back to…
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