Baltimore braces for influx of abortion assistance requests in wake of Roe v Wade ruling
BALTIMORE -- It has been two months since Roe v Wade was overturned and shockwaves are still rippling across the country.
America's various states are set to ban or restrict abortion access to the procedure.
Those states where abortion remains legal are working to serve their residents and help people who must now travel to terminate a pregnancy.
Baltimore is in a state that aims to assist all women with their struggles.
"It is very important for us to be prepared, our agencies to be prepared, for the resources that will be needed to make sure that we're taking care of these populations that are going to need these reproductive services," Baltimore City Councilwoman Danielle McCray said.
Baltimore City is an Abortion Rights Protection Jurisdiction. So an investigative hearing was held to evaluate how prepared the city is for an influx of patients and identify barriers to accessing abortion services.
These meetings will be held on a regular basis to ensure the city stays prepared.
After all, the dynamics surrounding abortion access are still shifting.
"At this point last year, we received no calls from Texas at all," Lynn McCann, co-director of the Baltimore Abortion Fund, said. "And at this point, we've received—or connected with—23 Texans traveling to Maryland to access care."
Last year, the Baltimore Abortion Fund, which provides financial assistance and support to individuals who live in or travel to Maryland for abortion care, connected with upwards of 1,500 people who needed assistance.
This year, the nonprofit organization is on pace to double that amount of assistance.
But due to the organization's limited budget, it will likely only be able to fulfill roughly half of the requests it receives.
Abortion in Maryland is legal, but some residents in the city still face hurdles in accessing the care they need such as access to transportation, childcare, taking time off of work without pay.
All of those factors make it difficult for city residents to access care.
In June, Mayor Brandon Scott announced the city would provide $300,000 in grants to organizations that offer abortion and family planning services, in hopes of eliminating some of those barriers.
