A California doctor is advancing the idea of a floating abortion clinic in the Gulf of Mexico to circumvent abortion bans in states around the Gulf, The Washington Examiner reported.
The idea is to provide a clinic aboard a ship in federal waters, and out of reach of state laws, that would offer first-trimester surgical abortions, contraception, and other care, said Dr. Meg Autry, an obstetrician and gynecologist and a professor at the University of California San Francisco, The Associated Press reported.
Autry said she is raising funds for the floating clinic.
The plan is for the ship to act as a "comprehensive" reproductive health clinic with a full team of licensed healthcare providers to patients living in states where such services are restricted.
The vessel will be operated by an experienced captain and crew in federal waters so its activities "will not be restricted by state laws," the website says.
The Gulf states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas have banned abortion except when the mother's life is in danger. In Mississippi's abortion law, there is also an exception for instances of rape.
Another Gulf state, Florida, has banned abortion after 15 weeks, with exceptions for instances in which the mother's life is in danger or there is risk of severe injury or a deadly abnormality.
Last month the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, ending women's constitutional rights to abortions and returning the matter to individual states. Last week, President Joe Biden signed an executive order enabling out-of-state and medicinal abortions.
About half of U.S. states are expected to ban abortions following the new Roe v. Wade ruling, Newsweek reported.