The one clinic that provided abortion services in the Rio Grande Valley ceased providing abortions on Friday following the Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights.

Whole Woman’s Health stopped providing abortions at their Texas clinics, including at their clinic in McAllen, in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that repealed Roe v. Wade and prompted Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton to declare that “abortion is now illegal in Texas.”

Paxton used a criminal abortion ban that was on the books before Roe v. Wade to support his statement.

“We don’t agree with Ken Paxton about the interpretation of the criminal abortion ban, but to protect our staff and to protect our patients from the hostile elected officials in Texas, we have ceased providing abortion care today,” Amy Hagstrom Miller, president & CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance said during a virtual news conference Friday.

“In order to protect our staff and our patients, and it remains to be seen exactly when the trigger ban will go into official effect legally, but as of today, there are no abortions being provided in the state of Texas by Whole Woman’s Health clinics or anyone else.”

Paxton issued an advisory Friday stating that some prosecutors “may choose to immediately pursue criminal prosecutions based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe that were never repealed by the Texas Legislature.”

While those statutes were not enforceable after the Roe v. Wade decision was issued in 1973, Paxton said they were still Texas law.

“Under these pre-Roe statutes, abortion providers could be criminally liable for providing abortions starting today,” Paxton wrote.

Hagstrom Miller said it remains to be seen whether the criminal abortion ban is enforceable as well as when the “trigger ban” will go into effect. The trigger ban was enabled by the Human Life Protection Act passed by the Texas legislature in 2021.

In his advisory, Paxton noted the Act was written to take effect on the 30th day after the supreme court issued a judgment overruling Roe. Since Friday’s ruling was just an opinion, not an actual judgment, it is still left to be seen when Texas’ trigger ban will go into effect.

Once there is more clarity on whether the pre-Roe criminal ban is currently enforceable, Hagstrom Miller said there may be an opportunity for the clinics to reopen to resume care. However, even if they do reopen, it would likely be short-lived until the trigger ban took effect.

“I would look to our attorneys to let us know how long it could be,” she said. “I have heard as many as 55, 60 days might be the longest we could get before that trigger ban would actually be enforceable.”

Abortions at Planned Parenthood Centers in Texas are also on pause following Friday’s ruling, however, directors of the organizations stressed they are meeting with their legal teams to review the Supreme Court’s ruling and how it impacts and triggers existing Texas laws, including two abortion bans.

“We all believe that this pause in abortion care, while heartbreaking, is the best way to protect our staff and patients and ensure that we remain strong viable organizations providing health care in the years to come,” Jeffery Hons, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Texas, said during a press conference via zoom.

Planned Parenthood centers will remain open and will continue to provide family care, including making contraceptives available.

“Today’s decision will not close Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas … all our care remains available,” Hons said.

Many conservative and religious organizations celebrated Friday’s decision, including Bishop Daniel E. Flores of the Brownsville Diocese who said the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade was “gravely unjust” and an “aggression against the life and dignity of the unborn child.”

“I am grateful to God that the nightmare of Roe v. Wade is ending,” Flores said in a statement. “And I ask all people of good will to work together so that human life may always be welcomed and nurtured in our families, our communities and our country.”

However, those at South Texans for Reproductive Justice said they were “angry and heartbroken” over the ruling which they described as a violation of human rights in a statement posted on their social media.

They said they would continue providing contraceptives and other resources, while also expanding their services in light of the ruling.

“We know that people with the means to do so will still be able to access a safe and legal abortion in another state or another country. And we know that people without funds, citizenship status, parental consent, and countless other barriers will likely have to carry pregnancies to term against their will,” their statement read in part. “In light of these new developments, South Texans for Reproductive Justice is expanding our service area to include Duval, Jim Wells, and Kleberg County.”

The organization said staff will ship free morning after pills, condoms, lube, and safe sex resources to everyone regardless of age, gender, citizenship status, or sexuality, though they urged people to submit their requests immediately.

“With access to abortion so severely curtailed, it’s smart to have a morning after pill on hand so that it’s available when you need it,” they said. “In the coming days, as we learn more, we’ll boost concrete actions you can take to fight back.”

While abortion clinics halted services in Texas, Whole Woman’s Health reminded that they still provide abortion services in other states such as Minnesota, Maryland, Virginia, or Indiana.

“People can travel from banned states like Texas into states where abortion is legal and they are able to have an abortion,” Hagstrom Miller said.

Additionally, people can also obtain Mifepristone, an abortion medication.

“(It) is medication abortion that we’re able to provide via telemedicine, that is mailed to a patient from an online pharmacy,” she said. “Those services are available to Texans if they travel to a state where those services are not restricted.”

“For example, if a Texan leaves the state of Texas and goes to Illinois or Minnesota or New Mexico and has a telemedicine visit and can receive that medication at an address in that state, they will be able to receive medication abortion in that way,” Hagstrom Miller said.

With the expectation that many people who live in states that have already halted abortions will continue to seek access by traveling to another state or by obtaining abortion medication, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said states do not have the ability to ban abortions outside of their borders.

“We recognize that traveling to obtain reproductive care may not be feasible in many circumstances. But under bedrock constitutional principles, women who reside in states that have banned access to comprehensive reproductive care must remain free to seek that care in states where it is legal,” Garland stated. “Moreover, under fundamental First Amendment principles, individuals must remain free to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states.”

He added states cannot ban medication that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration such as mifepristone.

“ … the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone,” Garland said. “States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”

Many Texans have long had to resort to traveling out of state to obtain an abortion, especially after the state passed S.B 8, a law that outlawed abortions after as early as six weeks of pregnancy.

Organizations like Frontera Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps people pay for abortion services, has helped fund the cost of travel, hotel stays, and other expenses that come with traveling out of state for an abortion.

But following the Supreme Court ruling on Friday, access to those resources will be harder for people in the Rio Grande Valley because Frontera Fund paused its activities.

“Today, because of the Supreme Court ruling Frontera Fund is forced to halt all activity that helps South Texans pay for and safely obtain a legal abortion due to the legal threat and criminal repercussions now associated with assisting abortion access in Texas,” Zaena Zamora, executive director of Frontera Fund, said in a statement.

“The reality is that anti-abortion laws penalize marginalized communities first and hardest,” Zamora continued. “While wealthy communities and those with the financial means will still be able to travel to access abortion care, many in the Rio Grande Valley will not be afforded the same dignity. Our border community deserves reproductive freedoms, regardless of income or immigration status.”

Zamora added that Frontera Fund will continue supporting pregnant people and families within the legal bounds of the ruling.

“Frontera Fund will continue to serve South Texas, and we will look towards that very same community to guide a new mission,” she said.

Brownsville Herald staff writer Laura Martinez contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with the full version.

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