The American city where abortion is legal on one side of Main Street and illegal on the other

Bristol, Virginia Eve Webster The American city of Bristol, with a population of about 44,000, is a divided community. Divided between Virginia and Tennessee, the line that marks the border between the states literally runs through the middle of the main street. While the two sides have a lot in common, there is one big difference: Abortion is illegal in Tennessee. This has occurred since the Supreme Court decision in 2022, which gave states — and no longer the federal government — the power to legislate on abortion, leading 12 states to approve almost total bans. So the city’s only abortion clinic, Bristol Women’s Health, moved less than a mile away to continue operating legally in Virginia. But the fact that abortion is legal in Virginia does not mean that the fight over access to the procedure is over. “It’s a never-ending dispute,” said Barbara Schwartz, co-founder of SLAAP, the Stateline Abortion Access Partnership. The group helps people who travel to Virginia to get an abortion at the Bristol Women’s Health clinic. “As soon as one approach stops working, the anti-abortion group shows up in Bristol and tries another.” Barbara Schwartz (right) with other volunteers at the BBC clinic On December 22, a Bristol court will consider the clinic’s action against an eviction notice issued by its landlords, brothers Chase and Chadwick King, in April 2024. The clinic’s lawyers argue that there is a right to renew the lease for another six years in total. But, if the judge rules in favor of the building’s owners, the clinic will be forced to look for a new address. This is not the first attempt by the owners to remove the clinic from the property. The brothers alleged that the clinic fraudulently concealed the fact that it performed abortions — a practice they say they are “vehemently opposed to.” The case was dismissed in September last year, when Judge Sage Johnson ruled: “If [os proprietários] Had they done a simple internet search of their tenants, as any reasonably prudent landlord would likely do, they would have discovered that the clinic did in fact offer abortion services, as is clearly stated on its website.” Clinic owner Diana Derzis, who declined to comment on the case, has previously said she hopes to keep the clinic in the city even in the event of an eviction. She points out that there are few other suitable facilities in Bristol, Virginia. The clinic’s departure from Bristol would be a “blow” to abortion access, according to Barbara Schwartz, co-founder of SLAAP, the State Line Abortion Access Partnership. Since Roe v. Wade (the US Supreme Court decision on abortion) was reversed, states where abortion is legal have become destinations for people traveling from other states seeking the procedure. “Bristol’s position makes the clinic the closest place, several hours away, for millions of people in the southern United States to get a safe and legal abortion.” Victoria Cobb, director of the anti-abortion lobby group Family Foundation, says Bristol’s location puts it at the “epicenter of the debate.” at the Capitol, why not fight at City Hall? “Residents don’t want to see their city turned into an abortion destination,” says Cobb. “We’re happy to help them.” that no new clinics could be opened in Bristol and that expansion of the existing clinic would be barred. Similar rules have already been used in other parts of the United States to restrict abortion, including neighboring Washington and Russell counties. Professor Laura Hermer, an expert on abortion regulation in the US, says these initiatives are largely a type of “virtue signaling.” the topic. “It’s been more stressful than dealing with a parking lot. It’s not an issue that has come to the local level before,” Jay Detrick, the city’s planning director, told the BBC. In the end, the city attorney concluded that imposing restrictions on a health facility was not within city hall’s remit. prohibits the sending or receiving, by mail, of materials that could induce an abortion. In total, 93 local authorities have already approved regulations to enforce the Comstock Act, including leading to the closure of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Lubbock. Pastor Dickson hopes that the rule he presented in Bristol will have the same result. The proposal has not yet been considered by the city council, but he says he is optimistic. He told the BBC. Kimberly Smith, co-founder of SLAAP, imagines there will be new campaigns of this type. According to her, anti-abortion activists target Bristol because of its unusual political makeup: “They come here because we were a red party. [republicana] from a blue state [democrata]. If they can make headway here, it undermines the entire states’ rights structure.” Even if the clinic wins its case this week and is allowed to continue operating there, its opponents remain determined, Pastor Dickson told the BBC. “As long as the cries of unborn babies are silenced in Bristol, there will be an effort to pressure the city council to fulfill its obligation to protect unborn Bristolians.”

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