BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Health care providers and officials in Minnesota are preparing to accept patients from Iowa, where a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy takes effect Monday.
On Thursday, Minnesota’s Democratic Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan visited Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota, a nonprofit abortion clinic in the city of Bloomington, to welcome Iowa residents seeking abortions after the state’s recent restrictions take effect.
Previously, abortion was legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Last July, the state’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a recent ban on the procedure after the sixth week of pregnancy, often before women know they are pregnant. There are restricted exceptions in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Sarah Traxler, a Minnesota-based gynecologist and chief medical officer for 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 a profound impact on the region itself, particularly the Midwest and the South.”
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed in June that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the state and ordered the law to be repealed. The district judge last week set July 29 as the first day of enforcement.
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion access has changed across the country. Laws have been enacted, recent restrictions have been passed, court battles have put them on hold, and in some places access has been expanded.
In states with restrictions, the main abortion options are obtaining the pills by mail, through underground networks, or while traveling, which dramatically increases demand in states with better access.
Whole Woman’s Health of Minnesota has treated patients from South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas over the past year. Amy Hagstrom Miller, the clinic’s founder and CEO, said she expects patient demand to augment after Iowa’s restrictions go into effect.
Flanagan said Minnesota will continue to work to support people from other states who travel to the state for an abortion.
“If you’re scared, come to Minnesota,” Flanagan said. “We’re here for you.”
