PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Since the U.S. Supreme Court's Friday decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, several states have already banned abortion, including Ohio.
The last remaining clinic in West Virginia has also stopped procedures.
"It’s something that we knew from the beginning would be overruled at some point in time because the whole Roe decision was not based on the Constitution at all," said Michael Ciccocioppo, executive director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation.
Here in Pennsylvania, abortion rights remain protected, for now.
That's why Planned Parenthood Keystone is already expecting thousands of patients to cross into the Commonwealth to access legal abortion care.
The group's president and CEO, Melissa Reed, said they anticipate an additional 8,500 patients will come into Pennsylvania for abortion care over the next several months.
Planned Parenthood says it is working in overdrive to make sure all of the patients have somewhere to go.
“We’ve been working overtime to add appointment availability across our health centers, hire more doctors, expand access through telemedicine and also direct-to-patient medical abortion, meaning we can mail medical abortion directly to people’s homes in Pennsylvania," said Reed.
As tensions surrounding the Court's decision remain high, Reed said Planned Parenthood Keystone is ramping up security at its clinics.
She said when the SCOTUS decision came down on Friday, there were Pro-Life demonstrators who came to the York clinic and celebrated outside the building.
She said any threat toward Planned Parenthood will be taken seriously.
Ciccocioppo said the job now for those on the Pro-Life side is to inform and educate those with the opposing viewpoint.
“Our efforts are not to castigate these people, it is to try to help educate them about why it is the Supreme Court has ruled that abortion is not protected by the Constitution," he said.
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