Tennessee abortion clinic moves up the street and crosses state lines to Virginia to escape ban

“I’m so dead set on making this clinic work. It’s so very needed,” a staff member says

An abortion clinic in Bristol, Tennessee, moved up the street across state lines into Virginia after the previous state banned the procedure following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade.

But the move led to a number of new issues for Bristol Women’s Health, such as logistics, legal worries, and local resistance after they opened their doors again in late July.

Following the overturning of the 1973 landmark Supreme Court ruling, ending the constitutional right to an abortion in the US, laws governing the use of the measure now vary sharply from state to state.

Tennessee is one of around a dozen states with GOP leaders that have enacted almost complete bans on the measure following the ruling on 24 June.

The closest abortion clinic to Bristol is about 80 miles (130km) away, according to Reuters.

In Virginia, abortion remains legal in the second trimester as well as in the third, but within restricted circumstances.

Many Bristol residents shared their frustration with the arrival of the women’s clinic, with some saying that they’re against abortion and a larger number saying that they didn’t want anti-abortion activists coming there, Reuters reported.

The yard of Chris Harber is next to the driveway of the clinic. He told the news agency that protesters once put up graphic posters along the road that he didn’t want his son, 8, to be able to see.

“One of them said ‘child baby sacrifice center’ and had an arrow pointing there,” the 34-year-old told Reuters. “When he sees that he’s going to ask me, ‘what do they mean?’ I don’t want to have to explain that to him.”

Chris Harber, whose yard is adjacent to the driveway of the new abortion clinic in Bristol, Virginia, U.S., stands on his front porch, August 30, 2022 (REUTERS)

Others who live close to the clinic said it hadn’t been an issue.

“It doesn’t bother me a bit,” Ronnie Scott, 81, told Reuters, adding that while he’s against abortion, he doesn’t want the government to regulate the issue.

“LifeBristol” is an anti-abortion group headed by Erika Schanzenbach. She led protests outside the clinic in Tennessee for several years.

Erika Schanzenbach, who heads "Life Bristol" and protested outside the Bristol, Tennessee abortion clinic for years, is photographed in Bristol, Virginia, U.S., August 31, 2022 (REUTERS)

She told Reuters that when she became aware of the clinic’s Virginia relocation, the group posted flyers in the new neighbourhood.

“What can you do to STOP this? Contact your city officials and tell them you do not want this in your city!” the flyers stated.

Bristol, Virginia Mayor Anthony Farnum was on the receiving end of calls, texts, and emails from area residents requesting that he shut down the clinic, but he said he would be unable to do so unless the state of Virginia bans abortion.

Anthony Farnum, the mayor of Bristol, Virginia, pose at the Burger Bar in Bristol, Virginia, U.S., September 1, 2022 (REUTERS)

“I told folks it’s probably best to reach out to our state leaders,” he told the news agency.

Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin was elected last year. He has said that he’s in favour of banning abortion from 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The law in Virginia could further restrict access to reproductive health if the Republicans win a majority in the state senate in 2023.

Tennessee District Attorney Barry Staubus told the news agency that abortion providers could be in legal peril if they give patients a two-pill abortion treatment with the second pill being taken in Tennessee.

Barry Staubus, the district attorney whose office oversees Bristol, Tennessee, at his office in Blountville, U.S., August 30, 2022 (REUTERS)

“That could potentially be the kind of situation that would require some litigation to determine whether or not there had been a violation of law,” he said. “I hope that physicians are wise enough to avoid that and it doesn’t come up, but it may very well.”

Stephanie Rosenwinge is one of a few staff members who started the new Virginia clinic. She’s a survivor of sexual assault, and she volunteered at the clinic in Tennessee, escorting patients into the building. She works part-time at the clinic in Virginia.

Stephanie Rosenwinge, who works part-time at Bristol Women's Health, the new abortion clinic in Bristol, Virginia, U.S., stands in her yard in Bristol, Tennessee, August 30, 2022 (REUTERS)

Stephanie Rosenwinge and Barbara Schwartz show off their new tattoos in Bristol, Tennessee, U.S., August 30, 2022 (REUTERS)

“I’m so dead set on making this clinic work. It’s so very needed,” she told Reuters.