California doctor Meg Autry has proposed opening a floating abortion clinic in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico to serve southern states where abortion is heavily restricted or outlawed following the overruling of Roe v. Wade.
She plans to call the ship PRROWESS, which stands for Protecting Reproductive Rights of Women Endangered by State Statutes, and it will serve states like Texas and Louisiana following the Supreme Court’s decision which ended the nearly 50 years of abortion rights being federally protected.
“There’s been an assault on reproductive rights in our country, and I’m a lifelong advocate for reproductive health and choice,” Autry, who is an obstetrician, gynecologist and professor at the University of California San Francisco, said. “We have to create options and be thoughtful and creative to help people in restrictive states get the health care they deserve.”
Autry is in the process of trying to raise at least $20 million to carry out her idea for a floating clinic. Donations are now being accepted. If the plan falls through, the funds will go toward supporting other projects that aid in abortion access. Her motivation behind the clinic is to help the marginalized because she believes people of color and the poor will suffer from the overturning of Roe v. Wade the most.
