CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) 鈥� West Virginia's only abortion clinic pressed forward Tuesday with scheduling abortions, even as the state's attorney general went to the Supreme Court to try to stop it.
blocked enforcement of the state's 150-year-old abortion ban, freeing the to begin scheduling abortion patients. Executive Director Katie Qui帽onez said Tuesday her staff planned to begin performing abortions as early as next week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e determined to continue doing so for as long as we鈥檙e able," she said in a statement. She called Monday's decision "a sigh of relief.鈥�
The same day, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office had filed a motion to the state Supreme Court asking it to block the decision from going into effect while his office proceeds with an appeal. He said it was 鈥渃ritical鈥� for his office to file an immediate stay Tuesday 鈥渢o prevent immediate loss of precious life.鈥�
鈥淲hen life is in jeopardy, no effort can be spared to protect it, including seeking whatever stay can be had,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he unborn children of our state can鈥檛 wait.鈥�
West Virginia has a state law on the books dating back to the 1800s making performing or obtaining an abortion a felony, punishable by up to a decade in prison. It provides an exception for cases in which a pregnant person鈥檚 life is at risk.
During Monday鈥檚 court hearing, lawyers for the Women鈥檚 Health Center argued that the old law is void because it has not been enforced in more than 50 years and has been superseded by a slew of modern laws regulating abortion that acknowledge West Virginian鈥檚 right to the procedure. One example is West Virginia鈥檚 2015 law, which allows abortions until 20 weeks.
Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Tera L. Salango agreed, granting a preliminary injunction against the ban. The judge said the recent laws enacted by the state legislature 鈥渉opelessly conflict with the criminal abortion ban鈥� and that it would be 鈥渋nequitable鈥� to allow conflicting laws to remain on the books.
The Women鈥檚 Health Center of West Virginia had . Staffers canceled dozens of abortion appointments, fearing they or their patients could be prosecuted under the old statute.
Qui帽onez told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that she was traveling for a fellowship on reproductive health rights and justice when the judge's ruling came down, so she was not at the clinic to see the reaction from her staff.
鈥淚 have no doubt that when they found out that there were tears of joy, and lots of excitement about being able to tell a person who鈥檚 calling asking how they can get an abortion, 鈥極h, we can provide you with that care here, like we鈥檙e supposed to,鈥欌�� she said.
The clinic has been posting on social media and sending out information in its email newsletter to let people know they can once again schedule abortions. They have also reached out to clinics in surrounding states where West Virginians have been traveling for abortions after the Supreme Court ruling, letting them know West Virginians now have abortion access in their home state.
But she said operations won't just go back to the way they were before the clinic had stopped performing abortions. She said the staff has been upfront with patients booking appointments that they are open for abortions again pending further court action, like the state鈥檚 appeal. The West Virginia Legislature could also decide to take up abortion during a special session in coming weeks to clarify the old law or pass new bans or restrictions.
鈥淲e're telling them, 鈥業t鈥檚 a moving target, things could change," she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about transparency and autonomy and shared decision-making ... In our conversations with patients, they need to know all of the options and the reality of everything upfront. We鈥檙e not trying to lie to our patients.鈥�
They have also had to scale back the gestational age at which they are able to provide abortions from just under 18 weeks to 16 weeks.
Amid the increasingly hostile political climate around abortion care, Qui帽onez said recruiting doctors willing to provide abortions has long been a challenge. She said many of the physicians who perform abortions at the West Virginia clinic travel from out-of-state.
In the weeks since Roe was overturned, she said the out-of-state physician who was trained to perform abortions at 17 weeks and six days has picked up a full-time schedule at the clinic in the state where they live.
鈥淲e鈥檝e essentially lost them,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I mean, that鈥檚 part of the strategy of these abortion restrictions or abortion bans 鈥� even if you temporarily stop abortions from happening, or are able to halt a clinic's operations, it has profound effects for resuming abortion care moving forward.鈥�
Leah Willingham, The Associated Press
