A suspicious bag found Wednesday outside a women’s clinic in North Fulton turned out to be filled with baby supplies and was not a threat, authorities said.
The bag was found around 9:15 a.m. at a building on Old Alabama Road that houses a parenting center, women’s clinic and mental health counseling office, according to Johns Creek police. The westbound lanes of Old Alabama Road were shut down between Nesbit Ferry Road and the Old Alabama Road Connector while the GBI’s bomb squad was called in to investigate further.
After more than three hours, officials at the scene confirmed the bag was only filled with diapers and other supplies and appeared to have been inadvertently left behind. It appeared to be a black backpack.
Old Alabama Road was reopened just after 12:15 p.m.
During the investigation, no schools in the area were believed to be in danger, Johns Creek police Lt. Deb Kalish said. The campus for Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church and its school, which offers summer camp programming for kids, is located just across Old Alabama Road.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
The building where the bag was found is home to the Johns Creek location of the Women’s Clinic of Atlanta which offers a range of sexual health services to women aged 49 and younger. The clinic provides abortion counseling but does not perform abortions.
“The clinics employ licensed medical professionals to provide evidence-based education about all options (abortion, adoption, and parenting) to those dealing with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy,” the organization’s website says.
The location is also home to Beacon of Hope, a faith-based parenting organization, and the Summit Counseling Center, a professional mental health counseling organization.
Wednesday’s scare comes as law enforcement officials around the country remain on high alert after a U.S. Supreme Court decision reversed its ruling on Roe v. Wade which protected abortion rights at the federal level. The decision, which was telegraphed by an unprecedented leak of the draft opinion in May, led to protests around the country and uncertainty in many states where “trigger laws” went into effect immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
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