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'Thousands of additional patients' | With abortion bans looming, Virginia clinics brace for influx of patients from across South

An abortion ban after 12 weeks is set to kick into effect on July 1 in North Carolina. Meanwhile, South Carolina is eyeing a six week ban.

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia advocates on both sides of the abortion debate are bracing for increased national attention, and a lot of campaign spending, after two recent abortion bans passed in the Southeast.

On Tuesday night, the North Carolina General Assembly overrode the Democratic governor's veto, leading to the passage of an abortion ban after 12 weeks. This ban will kick into effect on July 1. 

Meanwhile in South Carolina, the State House passed a ban on abortion after six weeks. The governor called the Senate into a special session next week to debate the bill.

If South Carolina passes this ban, Virginia would become the sole state in the Southeast offering abortions without significant restrictions, making the state a destination for thousands of women seeking an abortion.

A look at the Abortion Access Map, will show a 'sea of red' in the Southeast. States like Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Lousiana, and Texas have near total bans on abortion. Georgia and Florida have passed six week bans on abortion, although Florida's law is still pending.

Jamie Lockhart from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia said that this would likely result in thousands of additional patients coming to the state for the procedure. 

"Which will not only impact all those who cruelly have to travel to access healthcare," she said. "But also Virginians who will likely see longer wait times and just delayed access to care due to the increased need."

Those against abortion are also paying close attention to Virginia, as the next battleground. Victoria Cobb, the President of the Family Foundation of Virginia told WTVR in Richmond that there would likely be efforts to curb abortion in the state. 

"We are very concerned that we are vulnerable to become a state where people travel to take the life of their unborn child," she said. "And communities are definitely gearing up to try to prevent that."

There have been efforts to limit abortion access in Virginia already. 

Earlier this year, Senate Democrats defeated three separate proposals to restrict abortion, including a 15-week-ban, supported by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. 

J. Miles Coleman, the Associate Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the UVA Center For Politics, said that abortion access is already becoming a major issue in the upcoming 2023 election. 

“This is the first election since Roe V. Wade was overturned that the full legislature is going to be on the ballot,” he said. 

Coleman said he anticipates significant spending on state house races, from both sides of the abortion debate, since Republicans could enact abortion policy if they gain just a few additional seats in the Senate.

“In both the state senate and the state house," he said. "I suspect they are going to be decided by a few seats. So this is one of those issues that tends to attract a lot of money and spending.”

The Blue Ridge Abortion Fund said they are bracing for an influx of patients coming to the Commonwealth. The group said this would just be a continuation of the trend they've been seeing for the last year. 

"We have experienced a significant increase in demand since the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade," a spokesperson wrote.

The spokesperson told WUSA9 that the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund currently has a weekly budget of $22,000, and that they "regularly need to close our helpline early in the week due to demand beyond what we are able to fund."

The fund is now expecting an influx of people to come to Virginia, since they are unable to get an abortion in North Carolina. 

"Blue Ridge Abortion Fund stands in solidarity with North Carolinians who are working on the ground to support people who need abortion care," the fund wrote in a statement. "This monster ban is harmful, dangerous and wrong. No government should force a person to carry a pregnancy or give birth against their will."

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