The Chicago Tribune has reported Illinois abortion clinics are seeing a rapid increase in the number of out-of-state patients since Roe v. Wade was overturned. The report comes half a year after the landmark Supreme Court ruling which sent the issue abortion back to the states. The right to abortion is now entrenched in state law in Illinois and the state is quickly becoming the “abortion capital of the U.S.”
Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based
Pro-Life Action League says, “Abortion providers and the government of Illinois
are working to draw women here from across the region for abortions.” “This is
bound to have an impact on people’s reproductive choices. Poor women throughout
the Midwest are being told they need abortions in Illinois — not affordable
housing, or adequate health care, or better child care options, but just
abortion,” he continued.
Nearly a third of Planned Parenthood of Illinois patients
now are from out of state, as opposed to about 6% prior to the Supreme Court’s
ruling.
Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of
Illinois, told the Tribune, “It is clear that abortion bans don’t stop people
from having or needing abortions, they just make it more difficult to access
care. The number of patients from other states forced to travel to our health
centers is at a historic high.”
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