The Final Days of Mississippi’s Last Abortion Clinic - The New York Times

— A young woman entered the parking lot of the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, her shoulders hunched.

But before it does, there are guaranteed to be a few more days of roaring, passionate crescendo, as the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the pink-painted clinic at the heart of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v.

Supporters of abortion access, meanwhile, are working to create a network of donors, volunteers, educators and even pilots to help women in the nation’s poorest state travel to places where the procedure will remain legal.

“Abortion is our business, and that’s what we’re going to do — to make sure women have access,” said Diane Derzis, the owner of the Jackson clinic.

Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with at least 12 more bans or restrictions, including in Mississippi, expected to take effect soon.

Fitch, a Republican, filed the brief before the Supreme Court defending Mississippi abortion restrictions; on Twitter, she hailed the decision as “a victory, not only for women and children, but for the court itself.”.

The intimidation factor, the social climate and numerous legal hurdles — including a requirement that abortion providers give scientifically dubious health warnings to women — have forced the clinic to turn to a rotation of out-of-state doctors who have flown in and out of Jackson for years.

Derzis, who lives in Birmingham, Ala., and owns a number of abortion clinics, came to the Jackson clinic and held a defiant news conference outside, her face partly obscured by big Jackie Onassis-style sunglasses.

She spoke of a new clinic she was opening in Las Cruces, N.M., roughly 1,100 miles away, and about fund-raising efforts to help women in Mississippi travel to New Mexico and other places where abortion will remain legal.

“The fact that we’re not here doesn’t mean that we’re not going to see Mississippi women, and whoever needs us,” she said.

Derzis, 68, said she had an abortion in 1973, at age 20, in Birmingham, while she was in college and living with her first husband.

Owning and operating such clinics, she said, has been her “dream job,” offering her the chance to help women in need.

Derzis said she would probably keep the phone number listed for the Jackson clinic, and might have the calls roll over to the New Mexico facility.

Cheryl Hamlin, a Massachusetts doctor who has been flying to work at the Jackson clinic, said in an interview that she was working on getting licensed in New Mexico so she could eventually fly there for work.

She was also researching ways that Mississippi women might be able to obtain abortion pills “online or in the mail or whatever.”.

Hamlin said she was heartened by the new burst of enthusiasm around fund-raising to help women travel.

Terri Herring, president of the group Choose Life Mississippi, was optimistic that the strengthened centers would help poor women understand their options in the post-Roe landscape.

Gibson said he had had enough of Mississippi and was planning to move to California with Kim Gibson, his wife and a fellow escort.

Gibson said, adding, “If they think it’s going to end with abortion, people are kidding themselves.”.

Derzis said that the day had been particularly busy, with 35 abortions performed and 25 counseling sessions for women who intend to have the procedure soon