Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health cancels abortion appointments, referring clients
It was eerily quiet Monday morning outside the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, with just two anti-abortion protesters standing near the parking lot.
On Friday, the clinic announced it was canceling all its abortion appointments in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
"Due to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we will be suspending all abortion services at Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health while we assess the continued legality of abortion in Tennessee," read a message on the center's website. "All abortion appointments will be canceled until further notice. If you received an abortion at KCRH prior to June 24, 2022, please attend your follow up appointment as scheduled. You can still reach a nurse if you are a recent patient."
The Center for Reproductive Health was the only clinic performing abortions in Knoxville after Planned Parenthood's facility on Cherry Street was destroyed by arson on New Year's Eve.
The clinic is still open for family planning services, a staff member said Monday. Anyone seeking an abortion is being referred to abortionfinder.org; that website is showing the nearest abortion clinic as a Planned Parenthood facility in Asheville, North Carolina.
North Carolina is one of the few states in the Southeast where abortion care is expected to remain legal. The state will likely be the nearest abortion provider for over 11 million women ages 15 to 49 in much of the Southeast now that Roe is overturned and states move to ban abortion.
Can you still get an abortion in Tennessee?
Abortion still is legal in Tennessee as of Monday. The overruling of Roe v. Wade triggered the state's complete ban on abortion, which will go into effect within 30 days.
But on Friday, state Attorney General Herbert Slatery said Tennessee does not want to wait 30 days, instead filing an emergency motion to allow the state to carry out a 2020 law banning abortion after six weeks. The law has been tangled in court proceedings since Gov. Bill Lee signed it two years ago.
More: On 'explosive' Roe v. Wade, PR experts tell businesses to think hard before weighing in
Protests in Knoxville: Hundreds rally in downtown Knoxville to protest Supreme Court decision and abortion ban
Planned Parenthood in Memphis said it was continuing to see patients and fulfill appointments Friday.
Ashley Coffield, the CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, emphasized its clinics are still able to work with those who need an abortion, even if it's helping them travel out of state.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville clinic suspends abortions after Supreme Court decision
