Women’s Health Center of West Virginia Story Archives

Us & Them: The Geography Of Abortion

State borders are now all important in determining access to abortion. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, West Virginia’s only abortion clinic has moved across the border to Maryland to continue providing abortions.

State borders are the new front lines in the nation’s abortion battle. On this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at the evolving geography of abortion.

Since a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturned federal abortion rights, 21 states have either banned or restricted abortion access, including West Virginia. Meanwhile, West Virginia’s neighbor, Maryland, is one of 22 states that are protecting abortion rights and expanding access.

Kay follows the decision of Women’s Health Center of West Virginia to move its abortion services from Charleston to a new clinic just over the border near Cumberland, Maryland. The move was intentional, because Western Maryland, like West Virginia, is a so-called abortion desert. The two regions have some deep political and cultural similarities. Western Maryland Republicans say they feel ignored by the overwhelmingly liberal, Democratic legislature in Annapolis. They say the new abortion clinic is not wanted or needed in their part of Maryland, and they blame the clinic’s presence on the fallout from Roe v. Wade’s defeat.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and the CRC Foundation.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Katie Quiñonez stood in the waiting room of the Women’s Health Center of Maryland, located about 10 miles south of Cumberland, Maryland. Quiñonez is executive director of this health center. She is also the executive director of the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, which is located in Charleston and was West Virginia’s only abortion clinic until that state banned abortion in September 2022. The West Virginia center still provides reproductive health services, but in the summer of 2023, the Women’s Health Center relocated its abortion services to the Maryland clinic which is less than two miles from the West Virginia border.

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Subsequent to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022, Gov. Jim Justice signed a measure into law that banned abortions in West Virginia, with limited exceptions. Justice called the signed bill the “protect life” law. The law bans abortions in West Virginia except in cases when the mother’s life is in danger, or instances of rape and incest that are reported to law enforcement in a timely manner. Any abortion must be performed in a hospital within eight weeks for adults and 14 weeks for minors.

“I believe wholeheartedly that it does one thing that is absolutely so important. It does protect life.” — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Abortion access in the U.S. varied widely even during the Roe v. Wade era. Some states had lots of clinics, others had just a few. But every state had at least one. That changed when Dobbs ended the federal right to an abortion and let states come up with their own regulations.

Now, abortion access has become even more fragmented and deeply polarized. Fourteen states, including West Virginia, have essentially banned abortion. They have become what some call “abortion deserts.” Seven states have imposed stricter legal limits, while 22 states have moved to protect abortion rights and expand access. Maryland is one of those states.

In May 2023, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore approved laws that do several things. They allow a wider range of medical professionals to perform abortions. They maintain the privacy of abortion-related medical records. And they shield doctors and others from criminal investigations by states with more restrictive abortion laws.

“I’m very proud to sign legislation that will protect access to abortion in Maryland. In this moment of serious consequences for women and for all Marylanders, Maryland can and will lead on this issue of abortion access. And I want to say to all women who are out there who are wondering what will happen. Who are worried about their future. Please hear me loud and clear. Maryland will always be a safe haven for abortion access and abortion rights.” — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore

*Credit: Gov. Wes Moore’s X (Twitter) Post*

Maryland Democrats, who control the state’s legislature, want abortion rights written into the state constitution. The General Assembly has placed a reproductive rights amendment on the ballot for November 2024. Democratic Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk chairs the House Delegates’ Health and Government Services Committee, where the amendment was first considered. She said an abortion rights amendment is necessary, even though Maryland has been a reliably blue state for a long time.

“It’s necessary because we feel very strongly that we want Maryland to remain a state that protects abortion access. On the ballot this November, Maryland voters will once again be able to affirmatively and resoundingly say their reproductive freedom should be a constitutional right. It is the highest protection that we can give our constituents.” — Maryland Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk

*Credit: Maryland Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D), MD 21*

Maryland’s drive to protect abortion rights and access has attracted OB-GYNs to the state including Dr. Anne Banfield. She moved her practice to a hospital system in Southern Maryland after working for 13 years at a hospital in Elkins, West Virginia.

“I had spent a lot of years trying to recruit to our practice there and working a lot of shifts, taking a lot of calls. And then on top of that, you know, trying to advocate within the state, trying to advocate at the state government level to protect reproductive rights in West Virginia. And I got this great opportunity in Maryland, which is a very friendly and protective state from a women’s health and reproductive health standpoint. And we saw the writing on the wall, and I knew I was coming here and I was going to have to work less in a more friendly environment, and I just couldn’t pass that up. I don’t think I would have left otherwise.” — Dr. Anne Banfield, OB-GYN

*Credit: Dr. Anne Banfield/MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital*

Cresta Kowalski is the president of the Mountain Maryland Alliance for Reproductive Freedom. She said prior to the opening of the Women’s Health Center of Maryland, her group had been exploring how to bring an abortion clinic to Western Maryland.

“We were like, okay, a five to 10 year goal would be an indie clinic out here in mountain Maryland. And then in January, I get an email saying, ‘Hi, I’m Katie Quiñonez and my friend Ramsie Monk and I work with the Women’s Health Center of Charleston and we’d like to speak with you.’ And they had already found the location and it was perfect. It was made for the operation … I was relieved that we could have options for people that didn’t have options.” — Cresta Kowalski

*Credit: Cresta Kowalski/Facebook*

Michael Mudge is the pastor and founder of Bethany House of the Lord, an evangelical Christian church. He and several other anti-abortion advocates from Western Maryland came together to form Abortion Free Allegeny. He said their goals are to let people know about the clinic, organize demonstrations against it, and raise awareness about pregnancy support centers and other abortion alternatives. Mudge said he and others opposed to abortion do not like having a clinic in their backyard, but he knows it has a right to be there.

“What we’re dealing with here in Allegheny County, Maryland, is a direct result of the Dobbs decision. The West Virginia Legislature took the opportunity after the Dobbs decision to pass legislation effectively banning abortion. And the Maryland state legislature, as in many other states, has responded to the Dobbs decision by radicalizing even more their pro-abortion legislation. So, we’re caught up in the middle of that. It’s just that here, we’re in a part of Maryland that doesn’t fit well in Maryland.” — Michael Mudge

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Mudge referred to the political segregation that has deepened in Maryland as it has across the country.

There’s the rural, conservative, Republican Maryland of the western panhandle, the eastern Chesapeake Bay, and the counties north of Baltimore. And there’s the urban, liberal, Democratic Maryland of Baltimore City, Annapolis and the D.C. suburbs that dominates state politics.

David Karol, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, said it wasn’t always like this.

Karol said his students were surprised to learn that in the presidential election of 1988, Republican George H. W. Bush won Maryland while Democrat Mike Dukakis won West Virginia.

“Which, you know, is just shocking to students, because that’s a complete reversal of the alignment that we see today,” Karol said.

“The [Maryland] legislature has been Democratic for about 100 years. The governorship has occasionally gone to Republicans, but seldom. And in presidential elections, Maryland has voted Democratic consistently since 1992.” – David Karol

*Credit: David Karol/University of Maryland*

Republican Mike McKay has represented Western Maryland in the Maryland General Assembly since 2015, first as a delegate and, for the last year, as a senator. He said his constituents have felt out of step with their overwhelmingly liberal Democrat fellow Marylanders. In 2021, then-Del. McKay and five other Republican lawmakers floated the idea of Garrett, Allegeny and Washington counties seceding from Maryland to become a part of West Virginia. They wrote a letter to the Republican leaders of West Virginia’s legislature to gauge their interest. It was a very, *very* long shot.

“We sent a letter and it became a dumpster fire, to be perfectly honest,” said McKay. “Everybody went crazy – ‘How are you leaving?’ Yada yada yada. And two of our members backed out. And the rest of us out of respect really just went our separate ways.”

McKay said his constituents are more aligned with West Virginia on abortion, too. He described himself as “pro-life” and said the Women’s Health Center of Maryland is not wanted or needed.

“I had a reporter from the Washington Post call me and do an interview, and she asked me, ‘How do you feel about this abortion clinic just moving across the state line, across the Potomac?’ I said, there’s never been a need for it. If there was a need for Planned Parenthood to move here, if there was actually this need, they would have been here by now. We have had women’s health clinics here for years. Probably 90 percent of everything that Planned Parenthood provides for women. And it’s important. That 90 percent is important to urban and rural women. It’s the abortion part that I say has been forced on our community, because Annapolis and Charleston had totally two different views, and our community has had to deal with the aftermath.” — Sen. Mike McKay

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Katie Quiñonez said she’s not forcing anything on Western Maryland.

“We did a market analysis and looked at what health care was available in those counties in mountain Maryland. And we found that not only was there not an abortion provider, the nearest abortion providers for the people living in mountain Maryland were at least 100 miles away in any direction. But there was also a real lack of reproductive health care, outside of a hospital system located in Cumberland. And then beyond that, we met directly with folks on the ground living and working in those communities to determine that, yes, there is a need here. Not only do we need abortion access, we need reproductive health care.” — Katie Quiñonez

*Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

This is what abortion care has become after the fall of Roe: a state-by-state fight over access, where abortion rights are determined by the lines on a map. The state line that divides West Virginia and Maryland runs through mountain communities that are alike in their topography, their culture and their political affiliations.

But on one side of that state line, abortion is legal, while on the other side, abortion is a criminal offense.

ACLU Drops Federal Lawsuit Against W.Va. Abortion Ban

West Virginia abortion providers and advocates dropped a federal lawsuit challenging multiple provisions of the state’s near-total abortion ban.

The Women’s Health Center of West Virginia said in a court filing Monday that one of the physicians involved in the suit “has now determined that he will not be able to resume providing abortion care in West Virginia at this time.” The other physician involved in the lawsuit is “no longer available for that role.”

“The physicians who previously worked at the clinic are not able to resume providing abortion care in West Virginia at this time, and so the plaintiffs have decided to discontinue the lawsuit, but have reserved the right to refile if and when the circumstances are right,” said Aubrey Sparks, managing attorney of the ACLU of West Virginia. “The ACLU remains committed to using every tool at our disposal to ensure that everyone in West Virginia can get the essential care they need.”

The lawsuit filed on Feb. 1 claimed West Virginia’s Unborn Child Protection Act is unconstitutional, irrational and caused irreparable harm to the clinic and its patients.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a press release that his office will continue to defend the state’s near-total abortion ban.

“As West Virginia’s first pro-life attorney general, I stand firm in the belief that it is our duty to protect innocent life,” Morrisey said. “We need to save as many innocent babies’ lives as legally possible. I am proud to stand for the most vulnerable of our society and the sanctity of life. My office stands ready to defend this clearly constitutional law to the fullest should this lawsuit be refiled, or against any other legal challenge.”

Legal Filings Continue Over W.Va. Abortion Law

In response to a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of West Virginia’s abortion law, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Friday filed a motion to intervene.

On Feb. 1, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia filed a suit against the president and secretary of the West Virginia Board of Medicine. That suit claims the state’s abortion law violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit did not name the state or the attorney general as defendants, but the state has a “manifest legal interest in defending the constitutionality” of West Virginia’s abortion law.

“We have a strong case and we are ready to defend West Virginia’s abortion law to the fullest,” Morrisey said.

The original suit asked for an injunction blocking the entire ban until the lawsuit could be heard in court. It said the state abortion ban is both “irrational” and “unconstitutional.”

One complaint is that House Bill 302 was passed through the West Virginia Legislature in less than 24 hours.

Morrisey issued a statement almost immediately after the Feb. 1 filing.

“This law reflects the will of the majority of the citizens of the state as relayed by their elected representatives in the state legislature,” Morrisey said. “I will stand strong for the life of the unborn and will not relent in our defense of this clearly constitutional law.”

On Sept. 13, 2022, the West Virginia Legislature convened in a special session and passed House Bill 302, outlawing abortion in West Virginia, with limited exceptions. In instances of legal abortion, the procedure is limited to M.D.s and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine.

West Virginia had a law on the books banning abortion since before it became a state. The original code was enacted in 1849. The state’s lone abortion clinic, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, joined a group of reproductive rights activists in quickly filing suit to have that 19th century law enjoined.

Under House Bill 302, if any portion of the law is determined to be unconstitutional, the entire law must be struck down.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice, and the Cooley law firm filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of Women’s Health Center of West Virginia.

Read a copy of the motion.

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit Against W.Va. Abortion Ban: Women’s Health Center Of West Virginia v. Sheth

West Virginia abortion providers and advocates filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court challenging multiple provisions of HB 302, the state’s near-total abortion ban passed in 2022.

Plaintiffs in the case are asking for an injunction blocking the entire ban while providers make their case in court. The suit says the ban is both irrational and unconstitutional.

One complaint is that HB 302 was passed through the West Virginia Legislature in less than 24 hours, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement almost immediately after the filing.

“We are ready to defend West Virginia’s abortion law to the fullest. This law reflects the will of the majority of the citizens of the state as relayed by their elected representatives in the State Legislature,” he said. “I will stand strong for the life of the unborn and will not relent in our defense of this clearly constitutional law.”

On Sept. 13, 2022, the West Virginia Legislature reconvened in a special session and passed House Bill 302, outlawing abortion in West Virginia, with limited exceptions. In instances of legal abortion, the procedure is limited to M.D.s and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine.

Now, plaintiffs in the case, Women’s Health Center of West Virginia and a local abortion provider, are asking the U.S. district court to issue an injunction blocking the entire ban pending a hearing.

Under HB 302, if any portion of the law is determined to be unconstitutional, the entire law must be struck down.

Abortion Clinic Goes Before Judge To Challenge W.Va. Ban

West Virginia's only abortion clinic was going before a county judge on Monday to ask that an 1800s-era law be thrown out so the facility can immediately resume abortions.

West Virginia’s only abortion clinic was going before a county judge on Monday to ask that an 1800s-era law be thrown out so the facility can immediately resume abortions.

The Women’s Health Center of West Virginia suspended abortion services on June 24, the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state has an abortion ban on the books dating back 150 years that makes performing or obtaining an abortion a felony, punishable by up to a decade in prison. There is an exception for cases in which a pregnant person’s life is at risk.

The ACLU of West Virginia has argued on the clinic’s behalf that the old law is void because it hasn’t been enforced in more than 50 years and has been superseded by a slew of modern laws regulating abortion that acknowledge a woman’s right to the procedure. One example is West Virginia’s 2015 law, which allows abortions until 20 weeks.

In motions before Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Tera L. Salango in Charleston, the Women’s Health Center’s attorneys said abortion services are essential health care, and the state’s most vulnerable residents are put at risk every day they don’t have access to that care.

Staffers have canceled dozens of abortion appointments, fearing they or their patients could be prosecuted under the old statute. “When it was in effect, the statute was used to criminalize both people who seek and provide abortion care,” the ACLU said.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, however, says the law is still enforceable. State attorneys countered that the law hasn’t been active in decades only because prosecuting people for getting or performing abortions would have been illegal under Roe — but that’s no longer the case.

The laws passed in years since do not conflict with the old law, the attorney general’s office says, but rather were intended to “fill the void regarding unregulated post-Roe abortion,” and if lawmakers wanted to repeal the 1800s-era law, they would have done so.

Morrisey’s office said the Women’s Health Center’s arguments “are likely to fail and overlook basic history: the West Virginia Legislature’s attempt to protect innocent, unborn life to the greatest extent possible against the backdrop of Roe v. Wade.”

“It is counter-historical to say that the Legislature intended less protection for unborn life if Roe was overruled than if Roe never existed,” they said.

In 2021, the Women’s Health Center performed 1,304 abortions, according to court documents. The majority of patients — 87% — were from West Virginia, with most others from Ohio and Kentucky.

Attorney Kathleen Hartnett from the Cooley law firm is arguing their case, along with attorneys from the ACLU of West Virginia, Mountain State Justice and others.

Hundreds Brave Downpours At Abortion Rights Rally In Charleston

Several hundred protesters came together Saturday, filling the Kanawha Boulevard side of the state capitol with chants, personal stories and speeches about abortion rights.

Several hundred protesters came together Saturday, filling the Kanawha Boulevard side of the state capitol with chants, personal stories and speeches about abortion rights at the “We Dissent” rally.

The rally was organized by West Virginia FREE, the ACLU of West Virginia, Planned Parenthood, West Virginia NOW, and the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia.

Hannah Davis came out to the We Dissent rally in support of abortion rights.

Attendees at the rally stood in the rain, carried signs and cheered, but they each had their own reasons for being there. Hannah Davis was there because, she said, abortion is healthcare and necessary.

“When my mom found out she was pregnant with my sister and then found out she had stage two breast cancer, there was serious talk about terminating the pregnancy,” Davis said. “She didn’t have to, but in the event she needed to, and not having access to it, I would have grown up without a mom. That scares me for the future.”

Just two weeks ago, on June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the question of abortion rights back to the states. Twenty six states are expected to implement an outright abortion ban or significantly curtail access to it in the coming weeks. West Virginia has a 19th century law still on the books that makes seeking, or providing, an abortion a felony punishable by between three and 10 years in jail.

That law, originally passed in 1849, well before West Virginia became a state, was never officially repealed by the state legislature. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued an opinion saying he felt it was still viable and enforceable, but that he felt it could do with legislative attention to make sure.

Gov. Jim Justice has promised a special session of the legislature to do just that, but in a press briefing Friday, he noted that he was nowhere near calling it because the House of Delegates wasn’t ready to have that discussion.

With the uncertainty surrounding the West Virginia law, the Women’s Health Center of Charleston, the state’s only abortion provider, stopped the procedure immediately upon hearing the Supreme Court’s decision.

Rita Ray offered her personal story during an abortion rights rally in Charleston.

A number of the speakers at the rally told personal stories of facing abortion themselves. One of those was Rita Ray. She had an abortion in 1959, years before it was legalized by Roe. In a quiet voice, she described a back alley abortion and being sent to a hotel room to wait it out.

“I am here today, because I am outraged that the US Supreme Court has taken away a right that women have had for almost 50 years,” she said. “A right to control their own destiny, a right to control their own bodily autonomy. And now states are trying to pass restrictive laws. We’re going back. We’re going back to the god knows what century — hundreds of years and in progress for women.”

Another of the speakers, Jamie Miller, described being raped at 16 years old and discovering she was pregnant. She said she was in despair when she took her pregnancy test in the bathroom at the Town Center Mall in Charleston. But a stranger told her about the Women’s Health Center and gave her the phone number. She credits that stranger with saving her life.

“Any reason for any one’s choice is a valid reason and theirs alone,” she said. “It took me 30 years to say aloud that I had had an abortion. It was like a light had been switched on when I heard Dr. Ford’s testimony during the Kavanaugh hearings and I woke up and I just started talking and telling everybody and I have not shut up. As I stand here today, it literally blows my mind that my 16-year-old self had more bodily autonomy than any of us here today.”

Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, closed out the rally with a fiery speech on the importance of abortion rights and getting out the vote to secure those rights.

Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, addressed the crowd with a fiery speech, detailing her own abortion.

“When I got outside there was some folks out there who felt that we weren’t worthy of health care. And that was someone dressed like Jesus, with a big old cross, just yelling at me,” Walker said. “And I see my baby crying in the backseat holding on to his Tickle Me Elmo. He asked me, ‘Mommy why is Jesus yelling at you?’ And I said, ‘It’s an imposter.’”

Walker also called on the attendees to register to vote and to register five others to vote as well. She brought a number of local candidates for elected office onto the stage and encouraged people to vote for them to make a difference in the fall.

Following the speeches, the protesters marched along Kanawha Boulevard while chanting slogans before dispersing.

No counter protesters were present at the event.

Editor’s Note: Rita Ray is a former executive director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting and still serves on the Friends of WVPB board.