BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota – Minnesota medical providers and public officials are preparing to receive patients traveling from Iowa, where a ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy it comes into effect on Monday.
On Thursday, Minnesota’s Democratic lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, visited Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, a nonprofit abortion clinic in the city of Bloomington. She welcomed Iowans seeking abortions after new restrictions come into force.
Previously, abortion was legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in Iowa. Last July, the Republican-controlled state legislature approved a new ban on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, which often occurs before women know they are pregnant. There are limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Sarah Traxler, a Minnesota-based obstetrician and gynecologist and medical director of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said the Iowa law could have ripple effects throughout the region.
“When the Dobbs decision was made, many of the patients coming to Iowa were from Missouri,” Traxler said in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio. “This will have resounding impacts on the region itself, especially in the Midwest and South.”
The Iowa Supreme Court reiterated in June that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered that the law be suspended. The district judge’s orders last week set July 29 as the first day of enforcement.
Across the country, the status of abortion access has changed since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Trigger laws immediately went into effect, new restrictions were passed, court battles lifted those restrictions, and in some places access expanded.
In states with restrictions, the main abortion options are increasingly pills in the mail or underground networks It is travelingvastly increasing demand in states with more access.
Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota served patients from South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas last year. Amy Hagstrom Miller, the clinic’s founder and CEO, said she expects to see an increase in patient demand after Iowa’s restrictions take effect.
Flanagan said Minnesota will remain committed to serving people who travel from other states seeking abortion care.
“If you’re scared, come to Minnesota,” Flanagan said.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
