A Californian doctor is proposing a floating abortion clinic in the Gulf of Mexico as a way to maintain access for people in southern states where abortion bans have been enacted.

The idea is to provide a clinic aboard a ship in federal waters, and out of reach of state laws, that would offer first trimester surgical abortions, contraception and other care, said Dr Meg Autry, an obstetrician and gynaecologist and a professor at the University of California San Francisco.

“There’s been an assault on reproductive rights in our country and I’m a lifelong advocate for reproductive health and choice. We have to create options and be thoughtful and creative to help people in restrictive states get the healthcare they deserve,” she told the Associated Press.

Dr Autry said the idea was only in the fundraising stage through the non-profit PRROWESS — short for Protecting Reproductive Rights Of Women Endangered by State Statutes.