As clinics pivot post-Roe, battle rages over syringe service in opioid-ravaged West Virginia

Staff at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia know what it’s like to provide controversial health services government officials have sought to restrict. The Charleston clinic was the state’s only abortion provider for years before the state Legislature banned abortion last year. Now it’s trying to open a syringe service program for drug users, which is another contentious health service that has been regulated by Republican lawmakers in the deep red state. The proposal comes as clinics nationwide are pivoting or expanding services post-Roe, often to other hard-to-access care for marginalized communities they say face stigma and barriers similar to abortion patients.