(The Center Square) – Illinois will open its doors to Wisconsin residents seeking an abortion after Planned Parenthood announced a partnership between organizations in the two states.
In 2020, 9,600 out-of-state residents received an abortion in Illinois. That’s expected to increase as neighboring states restrict the procedure following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade and sending the regulation of abortion back to individual states. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton this week testified in front of a U.S. Senate committee, saying Illinois has already seen the number of out-of-state abortion patients double since last month’s decision.
Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, and Tanya Atkinson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, held a news conference Thursday to announce a partnership. Healthcare workers will team up at the Waukegan, Illinois Planned Parenthood facility and start seeing patients from both states.
Welch explained that physicians from both states have been working together to prepare for this moment.
“Leading up to the Roe v. Wade decision, Wisconsin staff spent several days training in Illinois,” Welch said. “Missions and medical staff are now licensed in Illinois, and we have worked out systems where patients can start and end their care in Wisconsin.”
Atkinson said this partnership had been years in the making.
“At PPWI, we have anticipated this difficult moment for years and worked with our health care partners at PPIL and others to do what we can to protect and enhance access to safe, non-judgmental abortion care for patients traveling across state lines,” Atkinson said.
Wisconsin has seen a major uptick in patients in the past few weeks, Atkinson said.
“Following the supreme court’s decision, our call volume has doubled,” Atkinson said. “We are currently referring all of our abortion patients out-of-state, with most of them going to Illinois.”
Wisconsin regulates various aspects of abortion, including mandatory ultrasounds, waiting periods and a parental notification requirement. Illinois did away with parental notification before the court’s ruling and allows for elective abortions. Atkinson praised Illinois’ abortion laws.
“Despite the devastating impact of this criminal abortion ban, we are grateful to have healthcare options for our patients right next door in Illinois,” Atkinson said.
The partnership has received pushback from groups across the state that want to restrict access to abortions. The Illinois Right to Life organization released a statement condemning the Planned Parenthood announcement.
“It’s no surprise that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and Illinois are partnering to bring more women to Illinois so the abortion giant can profit from the deaths of their children,” the statement reads. “This is particularly tragic because [Gov. J.B. Pritzker], with the help of Planned Parenthood, Personal PAC, and their friends in the Illinois legislature, have made abortion incredibly dangerous for women in our state.”
