Although the current outlook for women’s health rights in the U.S. is stark, one corner of the internet is reminding us that the fight isn’t over yet. More than 8,000 people came together over three days to raise more than $631,000 to help North Dakota’s only abortion clinic move, and they’re not done yet.
The GoFundMe campaign for the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, North Dakota went live last Friday after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. According to the campaign, the fundraiser will help the clinic renovate and furnish its new location in Moorhead, Minnesota—chosen because of its proximity to North Dakota so as to ensure that care is not interrupted for people seeking abortions in the region—while continuing to operate its location in Fargo until the state’s “trigger law” goes into effect.
“As an independent provider, they do not have the name and notoriety to fall back on funding like national organizations would be able to,” wrote the North Dakota Abortion Defender, the fundraiser’s organizer. “But as an ‘indie clinic,’ they’re also able to meet the unique needs of our region with the most tailored, compassionate care.”
In just three days, the campaign blew past its $20,000 and $250,000 goals. It has a new goal of $1 million, which aims to cover the costs of facilitating telehealth medication abortion services to people in legal states.
The North Dakota Abortion Defender’s Identity is unknown at this time, but clinic officials referred to the organizer as an “ally” in an interview with CNN.
Gizmodo reached out to the Red River Women’s Clinic for comment on Monday morning but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The clinic shared its plans to move to a few miles away to Moorhead in May after a leaked draft opinion indicated that the Supreme Court planned to overturn abortion rights. The clinic has been operating in Fargo for more than two decades, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, and serves North Dakota, South Dakota, and northwest Minnesota.
The clinic has no choice but to move, given North Dakota’s trigger law, which is set to ban all abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the pregnant individual. Although abortions are still legal in the state for now, they will stop being allowed 30 days after North Dakota’s attorney general provides certification to the state’s Legislative Council certifying that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican, celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement on Friday, pointing out that the court had “return[ed] power to the states where it belongs.”
“Our administration has consistently supported pro-life legislation and this decision is a victory for the many North Dakotans who have fought so hard and for so long to protect the unborn in our state,” Burgum said. “We will now work diligently with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office to fulfill our constitutional duty by carrying out the 2007 legislation that is triggered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. We must now turn to prioritizing women’s health, including expectant mothers and children in need.”
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the clinic’s future home, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order on Saturday directing state agencies not to cooperate in the investigation or arrest of anyone accused of coming to the state for an abortion.