The U.S. Supreme Court allowed an absolutely bizarro abortion ban to take effect in Texas this week, sending Arkansas reproductive rights advocates into planning mode and firing up a nimble network of support.

The new Texas law reads like a Kurt Vonnegut plot, with citizens deputized to sue each other for in any way facilitating abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Uber drivers who take women to a clinic, receptionists who handle the paperwork, babysitters who provide childcare during the process. All are legally culpable under the Texas law, and on the hook for a fine of at least $10,000, to be paid to whomever instigated the suit. Pretty much anyone can bring a case, and even if the suit is fruitless, defendants aren’t entitled to recoup legal fees.

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Lost in the dystopian weirdness of vigilante enforcement and the drama of the late-night split Supreme Court ruling is the on-the-ground reality that women in Soviet Texas are stuck. As Lone Star bounty hunters stake out health clinics looking for terrified women and rapists game out ways to narc on their victims for financial gain, reproductive health care providers in neighboring states are preparing to absorb the fallout.

“What really does get lost is that there are individuals who are right now trying to get services outside of the state,” said Emily Wales, interim CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which oversees clinics in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. “This is people’s lives that are impacted,” she said.

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Neighboring states expect to see an increase in patients and are preparing for that, she said. “We’re there to provide it, no matter what.”

She offered three ways supporters of abortion access can help.

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  1. Be open about your support. Talk about the fact that we need access to safe and legal abortions. Having supporters talk about it can feel create a community that speaks loudly.

  2. Show support for local providers. Reach out to us, volunteer to become clinic escorts, make donations.

  3. Think long and hard about what you want your legislature to look like and how they should be governing the state you care about. From the local level to the national level the work we do is shaped by those folks, so be thoughtful when you’re casting a ballot.

On top of the clinics that provide abortion care, a number of volunteer groups help with the befores and afters. The Arkansas Abortion Support Network provides escorts to clinics and money to cover transportation and other costs. Ali Taylor, the group’s president and co-founder, said she was genuinely surprised the Supreme Court allowed the Texas ban to go into effect.

“The enforcement element of this law is so disturbing and certainly is going to have some very bad outcomes, as intended, I’m sure,” she said.

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So far, the group remains focused on abortion access for Arkansans, but they’re discussing reworking the budget to help Texans who come to Arkansas. Taylor also said she suspects more Texas women will head south to access medication abortions.

“Crossing the border to buy medication to induce abortion is something people have been doing and will probably be doing more of now,” she said.

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The Arkansas Abortion Support Network has counterparts across the country, including multiple groups in Texas. Taylor said donations made at needabortion.org will go to help Texas women seeking abortions after the six-week mark.

Karen Musick, the other co-founder of the Arkansas Abortion Support Network, is plotting some type-A planning to prep for any eventuality. She will set up a tent at 3 Office Park Drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday in September except Sept. 4 in hopes of enlisting new volunteers, collecting new ideas and possibly mapping out ways to provide new services. She invites anyone who wants to help to come out.

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“My goal is to have people show up and brainstorm about everything that may be needed to provide abortion access. We need to get to know each other, and know what capacity we will have in Arkansas to assist with abortion access for everyone,” she said.

She wants to make Plan B, emergency contraception that can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy, available throughout Arkansas, and is hoping for help in figuring out how to do that. She’s also hoping to pull together a plan on how to distribute accurate information about self-managed abortions induced by medication.

Mainly, Musick said she wants to prepare for additional threats to abortion access that she fears are on the horizon.

“I envision creating a manual for how Arkansans can access the human right of abortion care,” she said. “I’d love to spend time with people brainstorming. … I want to ensure we all know each other, and just what is available in Arkansas. This is way too important.”

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