Elected officials in more than 10 US states where abortion is now banned or expected to be shortly have committed to not prosecute people seeking or providing abortions.
Wisconsin’s Democratic governor has pledged to grant clemency to doctors prosecuted for performing abortions, as the party seeks ways to defy stringent new restrictions in red states.
It comes as more of corporate America joined the backlash to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nationwide abortion rights by offering funding to staff who need to travel out of state to access legal abortions.
Tony Evers, Wisconsin governor, declared he “will provide clemency to any physician that is charged” after the state’s abortion clinics halted services amid fear of prosecution.
The move seeks to circumvent a Wisconsin law that makes performing an abortion punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 (£8,000).
The 1849 law has been revived by the US Supreme Court’s decision to leave the issue of abortion rights up to individual states, at least 22 of which have swiftly moved to ban the procedure.
“I don’t think that a law that was written before the Civil War, or before women secured the right to vote, should be used to dictate these intimate decisions on reproductive health,” Mr Evers told the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention over the weekend.
He added: “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that all people have abortion access and reproductive freedom in Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin’s abortion clinics have defiantly remained open in the wake of the state ban to help ferry women to neighbouring Illinois or Minnesota, where abortions remain legal.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it cancelled around 70 procedures scheduled for this weekend, but said its staff would remain in place to offer alternative treatment options for patients.
Affiliated Medical Services (AMS), which also provides abortions in Milwaukee, said it was busy contacting patients about the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The group said it would stop providing abortions and instead “provide resources for out-of-state abortion clinics, travel support and general questions”.
In response, a crowd of pro-life activists gathered outside the clinic’s faded beige, peeling exterior over the weekend.
Jason Murphy, a 22-year-old painter and decorator, said they have seen some success since the Supreme Court ruling. Where typically there would be a dozen or more patients arriving at the AMS clinic on a given day, he said he had spotted just four or five that day.
“I don’t see the Supreme Court ruling as a final victory for the pro-life movement,” he told The Telegraph.
Indicating the clinic in front of him, he added: “This place is still open, referring parents who are seeking to murder their child to drive few more hours to other states like Illinois.”
With companies including Airbnb, JP Morgan, Tesla and Netflix offering to cover travel expenses for employees seeking out-of-state abortions, democratic states are bracing for a potential influx of patients. One clinic in Illinois has opened just miles from the Wisconsin border in anticipation of the state’s abortion ban.
“We do have enough staff to meet the needs today and we are working at increasing our staff to meet the anticipated surge of 20,000 to 30,000 additional out-of-state patients per year,” said Mary Jane Maharry, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
Democratic governors such as Minnesota’s Tim Walz have also sought to evade red states’ bans by issuing executive orders designed to shield women who travel to get abortions from being subject to legal consequences in their home states.
Meanwhile, more than 80 elected prosecutors have signed an open letter declining to use their offices to pursue people seeking or performing abortions.
They include district attorneys in more than 10 states where abortion has been banned or is expected to be soon.
“Not all of us agree on a personal or moral level on the issue of abortion,” they said. “But we stand together in our firm belief that prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalise personal medical decisions.”
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