Since Roe v Wade was overturned, 13 states have made abortion illegal, leading activists to launch an ‘at sea’ abortion campaign to provide abortions on boats.
According to the Guardian, some states that continue to allow abortions have seen an increase in women seeking abortion from neighbouring states in which abortion has been restricted.
Abortion boats
This has led abortion supporters to capitalise on women seeking abortions out of state, leading to the creation of a number of mobile abortion clinics, with one woman attempting to set up a mobile abortion clinic on a boat that she intends to operate in the Gulf of Mexico.
Meg Autry wants to get around the law in states, like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, where abortion is restricted. She says she was inspired by gambling boats in the 1950s, which were able to operate because river waters were not regulated in the same way as the land.
The idea is that, by operating in federal waters, they will be outside the jurisdiction of state law and, as a result, they will be able to offer surgical abortions. According to Autry, her legal team believes it will be possible to perform abortions in federal waters. While surrounding states are attempting to protect the lives of their unborn citizens, Autry is attempting to ensure that those unborn citizens do not benefit from such protections.
Roe v Wade
The overturning of Roe v Wade permitted individual states to decide their own abortion legislation.
At the time of Roe v Wade’s overturning, nine states had pre-Roe restrictions on abortion that could potentially be enforced, and 13 states had what abortion advocates labelled as “trigger bans” in place, meaning that abortion restrictions would be in place now that Roe has been overturned.
A number of states have an explicit “right” to abortion at least up to some point in pregnancy.
Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “It is sad to see Autry using her entrepreneurial talents to effectively undermine efforts to protect the unborn. There is no mention from these abortion activists of offering practical and financial support to help women keep their babies. Again, we have abortion campaigners showing that they are only really pro one choice, and that is abortion”.
