The American city of Bristol, with a population of approximately 44,000, is a divided community.

Divided between Virginia and Tennessee, the state line literally runs through Main Street. While both sides have much in common, there is one important difference: abortion is illegal in Tennessee. This has been the case since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that gave individual states, rather than the federal government, the power to legislate on abortion, leading 12 states to pass near-total bans. Because of this, the city's only abortion clinic—the Bristol Women's Health Clinic—moved less than a mile away to continue operating legally in Virginia. But just because abortion is legal in Virginia doesn't mean the battle for abortion access is over. “It’s like the game of whack-a-mole,” says Barbara Schwartz, co-founder of SLAAP, the State Border Abortion Access Partnership. The organization helps people who travel to Virginia for abortions. at the Bristol Women's Health Clinic. As soon as one protest attempt fails, anti-abortion activists appear in Bristol and attempt another.

Eviction Attempt

On December 22, the Bristol Circuit Court will hear the clinic's case against an eviction order issued by its landlords, brothers Chase and Chadwick King, in April 2024.

Lawyers for the clinic argue that it has the right to renew its lease for a total of six more years. But if the judge rules in favor of the building's landlords, the clinic will be forced to find a new home.

This is not the landlords' first attempt to evict the clinic. The brothers claimed that it fraudulently concealed that it performs abortions, which the clinic vehemently denies.The case was dismissed in September of last year, following a ruling by Judge Sage Johnson.

“If [the landlords] had conducted a simple internet search on their tenants, as any reasonably prudent landlord would likely do, they would have discovered that the clinic did, in fact, offer abortion services, as clearly stated on its website.”

The clinic's owner, Diana Derzis, who declined to comment on the hearing, previously stated that she hopes to keep the facility in the city, even if they are evicted. However, she noted that there are few suitable facilities in Bristol, Virginia.

The clinic's departure from Bristol would be a major blow to abortion access, according to Barbara Schwartz, co-founder of SLAAP.

Abortion Destinations

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, states where abortion is legal have become destinations for those seeking abortions outside their own state (if it is not permitted). According to the Guttmacher Institute (GI), 155,000 people crossed state lines last year. The organization also found that more than 9,200 people traveled to Virginia alone to have the procedure in 2024. “The location in Bristol means the clinic is, by several hours, the closest place to get a safe and legal abortion for millions of Southerners.” Victoria Cobb, director of the anti-abortion organization Family Foundation, also points out that Bristol’s location puts it at the epicenter of the debate. Cobb launched the first of several efforts to restrict abortion in Bristol by using local ordinances. This tactic is being used by anti-abortion activists in states that allow it. The logic is simple: if you can’t win at the Capitol, why not fight at City Hall? “Local residents don’t want their city to become an abortion destination,” Cobb says. “We are delighted to help.”

The Family Foundation has previously argued that the clinic's existence contravenes planning regulations, which prohibit the use of buildings in a way that could endanger life.

“Why doesn't this extend to the life of the unborn child?” Cobb asks.

The wording of the ordinance she championed advocated for not allowing the opening of new clinics in Bristol and blocking the expansion of existing clinics.

Similar regulations have been implemented in other parts of the US to restrict abortion, including in nearby Washington and Russell counties.

However, Professor Laura Hermer, an expert on US abortion regulations, says these efforts are, to a large extent,a “virtue show.”

“I would be surprised if many of these cities had healthcare providers, let alone abortion providers,” he said.

Comstock Act

The debate turned tense in Bristol when the city council agreed to investigate the matter.

“It’s been more stressful than dealing with a parking lot. It’s something that’s never been dealt with at a local level before,” Jay Detrick, the city’s planning director, told the BBC.

Ultimately, the city attorney determined that imposing restrictions on a medical center was not within his jurisdiction.

Shortly after the city decided not to intervene, another group decided to try to shut down the clinic, this time led by Texas pastor Mark Lee Dickson.

The pastor has been lobbying city councils across the country to enforce the Comstock Act, a 152-year-old federal law that prohibits sending or receiving material through the mail that could induce an abortion. abortion.

93 local authorities have passed ordinances to implement the Comstock Act, and have even closed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Lubbock, Texas.

Pastor Dickson hopes his ordinance, introduced in Bristol, will have the same result. It has not yet been considered by the city council, but he remains optimistic.

“Just because a local government introduces or rejects a measure of this kind doesn't mean at all that the initiative is dead,” he told the BBC.

Kimberly Smith, co-founder of SLAAP, anticipates new campaigns. He claims that anti-abortion activists have Bristol in their sights because of its unusual political makeup.

“They come here because we were a Republican part of a Democratic state. If they undermine the situation here, it weakens the entire rights framework of a state.”

In fact, even if the clinic wins the case this week and is able to remain in place, its opponents will not be intimidated, Pastor Dickson told the BBC.

“As long as the cries of unborn babies in Bristol are silenced, there will be attempts to pressure the city council to fulfill its obligation to protect the unborn in Bristol.”