On the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (PPSLRSWMO) and Advocates of PPSLRSWMO are mourning the loss of abortion rights following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization* decision but celebrating one year of the rebuilding of reproductive freedom. This anniversary marks the launch of our work to re-imagine Roe. This report celebrates our year of work rebuilding reproductive freedom in bold and innovative ways that have already and will continue to support every person’s ability to access abortion, no matter their zip code. This work recognizes that we must remember the rights we have lost with the overturning of Roe while pushing forward for so much more that we can gain, because after all, Roe was never enough for people who are forced to navigate racist and discriminatory systems including people of color, women, rural communities, and people with low-incomes.
Regional Logistics Center
The Regional Logistics Center (RLC), in partnership with Hope Clinic, launched its patient navigation services on the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Logistical barriers (reliable transportation, child care, money for gas, time off work, etc.) often delay patients from accessing abortion care or prevent them from accessing care altogether. The RLC is designed to provide no-cost navigation for patients experiencing a rapidly changing abortion landscape in the Midwest and South.
In the past year, the RLC has provided nearly half a million dollars in addition to nearly two million dollars in assistance from abortion funds across the country in patient navigation services to more than 5,000 patients seeking care in southern Illinois — 85% of costs were incurred post - Dobbs. Consistent with what we know to be true — when abortion is banned, people of color who are forced to navigate racist and discriminatory systems are harmed the most — the vast majority (70 percent) of Planned Parenthood patients who utilized RLC services identified as a person of color.
RESPONDING TO POST-DOBBS CRISIS
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Dobbs case, reversing five decades of established abortion rights. As a result, Missouri and almost every state bordering Illinois banned or severely restricted abortion. Since, thousands of patients — many seeking care later in pregnancy due to increased hurdles like travel, child care, and taking time off work — have been forced to flee their home states.
In response to this demand in Illinois, PPSLRSWMO expanded hours and days of operation and advocated for new policies to expand provider capacity and patient access. Still, patients face wait times up to two weeks. In the months after Dobbs, Advocates of PPSLRSWMO educated elected allies in Illinois and elevated urgency around key policy changes that not only modernize abortion care in the state but would also expand capacity, protect providers and patients, and make abortion care more accessible.
PPSLRSWMO also launched the first Planned Parenthood mobile abortion clinic in the country. This mobile clinic will become operational this year, and will meet patients near the border areas of southern Illinois. The mobile clinic will start by providing medication abortion, and expand to procedural abortions in the future.
On January 13, 2023, advocates, activists, and providers celebrated the signing of HB 4664 — a comprehensive pro-abortion bill that protects Illinois as a critical abortion access state.
We thank Governor Pritzker, President Harmon, Speaker Welch, Senator Villanueva, Representative Cassidy, and the Illinois House Reproductive Health Working Group for re-imagining Roe this past year. In partnership with countless committed allies across our region, we have moved the needle forward in the most challenging circumstances.
Tags: Abortion, AbortionProviders
