"It's a mess," she told AFP on Thursday in her office at the Red River Women's Clinic in the northern town of Moorhead. But "we will adapt, we will find a solution".

On April 7, a federal judge in Texas, known for his ultra-conservative positions, withdrew his marketing authorization for mifepristone throughout the United States, a new twist in the assault on abortion rights in the United States.

The federal government appealed and an appeals court partially overturned the judge's decision, ensuring that the abortion pill remains authorized for the time being; But this court has also reinstated restrictions on its use.

It is before the Supreme Court that the future of mifepristone should be at stake: the Biden administration has announced that it will seize it.

A complex situation that has caused confusion among patients and uncertainty in clinics. Tammi Kromenaker has just received two new cartons of mifepristone and in recent days, she explains, calls in the community to lawyers and researchers have multiplied.

"In almost every Zoom call or meeting I've been in has been to, people have said that (the situation) can change as we speak, because there are so many changing elements and so many stakeholders," she says.

Move

Still, the clinic had recently picked up a cruising pace after tumultuous times, according to Tammi Kromenaker.

Until last summer, the Red River Women's Clinic was based in Fargo, North Dakota, a short drive from its current location. It was the only clinic to perform abortions in this conservative state.

In early May 2022, when the media Politico published, on the basis of a leak, that the Supreme Court was preparing to annul federal protection of abortion rights and let states legislate on the issue, the news had the effect of a bombshell.

Red River Women's Clinic Director Tammi Kromenaker poses at her facility office in Moorhead, Minnesota, April 13, 2023 © Inès BEL AIBA / AFP

Tammi Kromenaker, who had felt the wind turn even before this new shock, embarks on the frantic search for new premises, because North Dakota is one of the states that have provided for so-called "trigger" laws, written to come into force automatically in case of change of jurisprudence.

She signed the papers for the new building in Moorhead on June 23, a day before the decision of the temple of American law, and moved a few weeks later to the more progressive Minnesota.

"Middle Ages"

After court reversals, abortion has finally — and for now — remained legal in North Dakota, but Tammi Kromenaker doesn't regret leaving.

"People sometimes ask me (...) +Are you going to set up a new clinic in North Dakota?+ and I say no, because now that we've spent time here, we're not going back to the Middle Ages," she said.

Although Fargo and Moorhead form "one great community" straddling two states, the difference between the two cities "goes beyond night and day," she said, marveling at the support she has received in Minnesota and expressing confidence in the legal outcome.

The Red River Women's Clinic in Moorhead, Minnesota (United States), April 13, 2023 © Inès BEL AIBA / AFP

"I don't think mifepristone is going away anytime soon. Maybe it will be available with restrictions," she says.

And as an institution accustomed to litigation, "we are able to turn around quickly," she says.

Late Thursday, after speaking with AFP, Tammi Kromenaker analyzed the situation with her lawyers in the light of the latest developments.

After a Washington state judge said the mifepristone ruling did not apply to 17 states and the federal capital, "we are comfortable with providing mifepristone in Minnesota and will continue to provide it as before," she said in a message.

Waiting to see who has the last word.

© 2023 AFP