After the heartbreaking Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, several abortion clinics across the country have been forced to close or move across state lines in order to operate. Among them is North Dakota’s sole provider of reproductive health services, Red River Women's Clinic (RRWC), located in Fargo. According to CNN, RRWC has been the only provider in the state for 20 years.
While the facility will still be operating and available to North Dakotans, moving means there will now be no legal, safe access to abortion care within the state. The move to Minnesota is a result of North Dakota’s abortion trigger law, which will go into effect 30 days after being signed by the state's attorney general.
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The new location will be about 15 minutes away from the former one, a GoFundMe to help the clinic is working on collecting funds for the new location.
"RRWC has served as North Dakota's only abortion clinic for over 20 years," the GoFundMe page reads. "As a state with a trigger ban in place, North Dakota would ban abortion in 30 days if Roe v. Wade is overturned."
Despite the tragic news of the clinic moving, there is hope. As of Saturday afternoon, two days after it was launched, the GoFundMe raised more than $500,000, far surpassing their goal of $20,000. By Saturday, more than 6,000 people donated.
"It's beyond humbling and heartening to know that there's that level of support," Clinic Director Tammi Kromenake told CNN.
"I saw the news on my computer and one of the staff members screamed, we cried, and became very angry," Kromenaker said thinking of how the day began. She added that within moments of the SCOTUS ruling, appointments for the clinic came in.
"I had to pull myself together and set up these appointments," Kromenaker said. "It was a surreal, ironic moment."
Kromenaker noted that there has been an increase in patients due to facilities closing and staffing issues in nearby states, including South Dakota and Minnesota.
North Dakota is one of at least 13 states that has a "trigger" law—law connected to the outcome of SCOTUS’ decision on whether to overturn Roe v. Wade. While North Dakota’s trigger law goes into effect next month, several states immediately banned abortion following SCOTUS’ decision.
The clinic and providers are hopeful for their move to Minnesota, as the state’s governor has signed an order to help protect people seeking or providing abortions from facing legal action from other states.