Across from a derelict dairy farm in far Western Maryland is a simple brick building marked with a white sign: Women’s Health Center. The center is many things: a place to obtain gynecological care, a place for trans people to receive gender-affirming hormones and a place where people end pregnancies. It’s also a lifeline, cast over the border to West Virginia. Before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the border between Maryland and West Virginia felt like a formality. Out here, amid the Appalachians, folks cross state lines to get to work, pick up groceries or visit family. But in our increasingly polarized country, the invisible border between Maryland — where voters recently chose to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution — and West Virginia, where abortion is illegal in nearly every circumstance — feels monumental. Maryland, like other blue states, is now a refuge, a safe haven, for people who need to end a pregnancy. Link in bio to read more. Reporting by Julie Scharper Photos by Kaitlin Newman Video by Krishna Sharma
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