{"id":298786,"date":"2023-09-17T13:36:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T18:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=298786"},"modified":"2023-09-15T16:30:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T21:30:54","slug":"maryland-abortion-facility-border-west-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maryland-abortion-facility-border-west-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland abortion facility on West Virginia border begins committing abortions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Maryland abortion facility will begin seeing patients after delays kept it from opening its doors this summer.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s Health Center of Maryland is positioned just over the border of West Virginia, which has been described as a so-called “abortion desert<\/a>.” The opening of the facility was announced earlier this year<\/a>, with the location chosen specifically to fill in for the closure of West Virginia’s only abortion facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHours in any direction, there are no other abortion providers here \u2014 it\u2019s smack dab in the middle of an absolute abortion desert, and that\u2019s by design,\u201d said Katie Qui\u00f1onez, executive director of the Women\u2019s Health Center of West Virginia. The West Virginia facility was forced to stop committing abortions<\/a> after state lawmakers passed a law protecting virtually all preborn children from abortion. Qui\u00f1onez will serve as the executive director for the Maryland facility as well. \u201cOur communities deserve better \u2014 people should be able to access abortion care without delay or barriers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In June, a “day of celebration<\/a>” for the new facility was held, during which Qui\u00f1onez noted, \u201cIt will be a regional access point.” Cresta Kowalski, chairperson of the Mountain Maryland Alliance for Reproductive Freedom, said the facility will also be providing so-called \u201cgender-affirming care,” saying, “This day is a day of celebration my friends for Mountain Maryland. Our tears are tears of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though less than 100 people showed up to celebrate the facility, others arrived in opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a father of five and soon to be six children, I\u2019m surrounded by love,\u201d Cody Butler told the Cumberland Times-News. \u201cIt\u2019s important to me to protect the most vulnerable in our society \u2014 the pre-born children. The only difference between my children and the ones in the womb are their location. … We simply cannot kill because of the location of a child.\u201d<\/p>\n