Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Ala., is dismissing a plan by a California doctor for a floating abortion clinic in the Gulf of Mexico.
The plan is to provide a clinic aboard a ship in federal waters, and out of reach of state laws, that would offer first-trimester surgical abortions, contraception, and other care, said Dr. Meg Autry, an obstetrician and gynecologist and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, The Associated Press reported.
The gulf states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas have banned abortion except when the mother's life is in danger. In Mississippi's abortion law, there is also an exception for instances of rape.
Carl, who represents coastal Alabama, called it a "pie-in-the-sky" plan, according to AL.com
"I don’t believe it," he said on Monday. "How will you get these young ladies out there to it? How do you get professional insurance to cover international waters? I don’t put much merit into it."
The plan is for the ship to act as a "comprehensive" reproductive health clinic with a full team of licensed healthcare providers to patients living in states where such services are restricted.
Meanwhile, Autry said she is raising funds for the floating clinic.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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