CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte abortion clinic said it is hiring more staff members as it prepares to deal with a possible influx of patients.
As of now, North Carolina is one of the only states in the Southern region of the country with no immediate plans to ban or further restrict abortions.
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“We've been hiring more staff, we're looking to secure doctors who may now be out of the job in certain states to apply for licensure here in North Carolina," Amber Gavin with A Women’s Choice, Inc. said. "We've been adding clinic days and expanding hours as well.”
Doctors and legal experts said this is uncharted territory with a lot of gray areas, but they do expect to see more women who can’t get care in their state come to North Carolina.
“We are anticipating volumes to increase," Dr. Beverly Gray, a Duke Health obstetrician and gynecologist, said. "We’ve already seen volumes increase in the last few months.”
A Women’s Choice operates three clinics in North Carolina, including one in Charlotte. It said it’s already receiving calls from women as far away as Texas, and some as close as South Carolina.
“We have expanded," Gavin said. "We are in a position to right now see more patients than we currently have on the schedule, so we are able to schedule more patients and see folks from out of out of states.”
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.