REPORT: The Future of Abortion Access in Illinois
By Reproductive Health Services of PPSLR | Oct. 13, 2021, 6:40 p.m.
Category: Abortion, Events in the News, Health Services
The work to protect and expand abortion access in Illinois has hit a critical juncture as the legal right under Roe v. Wade and the reality of abortion access continue to hang by a thread. Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region (RHS), which operates a state of the art health center in southern Illinois created this report to help illustrate the potential impact to patients in and around Illinois if Roe is overturned.
The new predictive data showing patient surges in the coming years is part of PPSLRSWMO’s Future of Abortion Access (FAB) work to prepare for the impact of a narrowing abortion access landscape. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the number of people crossing state lines to have an abortion in Illinois has grown each year since 2014. IDPH’s most recent data from 2019, also shows Illinois cared for 10% more patients who came from out of state.
Below are some data points specific to southern Illinois where there are two abortion providers preparing for a post-Roe reality.
Furthermore, according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, nearly half of all reproductive capable people in the United states — more than 36 million people — live in a state poised to ban abortion if Roe is overturned. Many of those states border Illinois including Missouri where already, 90% of patients who call RHS in Missouri for an abortion, choose to flee their home state to access care at Fairview Heights, Illinois. Medically unnecessary abortion laws make abortion inaccessible for people of color, people with low-incomes, and folks living in rural communities who already navigate racist and discriminatory systems. To learn more, view the full Red Alert Report.
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