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If Roe falls, Illinois abortion providers plan for 20,000 to 30,000 more patients a year

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Chicago Abortion Fund Executive Director Megan Jeyifo was at a comedy show when a rapid-fire series of news alerts and text messages lit up her phone: A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion leaked Monday indicated the majority of justices plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, threatening abortion rights throughout much of the nation.
The nonprofit leader was at first outraged and then sorrowful. But suddenly, also on her phone, she saw that donations were pouring in from donors who were just as angry and terrified at the prospect of waning abortion access around the country.
“We’ve been preparing for this,” said Jeyifo, whose organization funds abortions as well as transportation, lodging, child care and other costs associated with travel for the procedure. “Our language has been ‘when Roe falls,’ not ‘if Roe falls.’”

The landmark 1973 Supreme Court case has established the right to an abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years. But if Roe were to be overturned, the matter of abortion rights would be decided by individual states.


While abortion will still be legal in Illinois — which has ensconced reproductive freedoms in state law — experts anticipate that more than half the states in the nation would ban or significantly chip away at the right to terminate a pregnancy. This includes every state surrounding Illinois.

“It felt like a gut punch,” said Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO Jennifer Welch. “I was stunned that the Supreme Court appears poised to ignore 50 years of settled law.”

Welch predicted that anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 additional patients could travel to Illinois each year to terminate a pregnancy if abortion rights are overturned.

This is on top of the ever-increasing number of patients who already cross state lines to come here for the procedure. Nearly 10,000 people came from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, according to the latest data available from the Illinois Department of Public Health. This was a 29% increase over the previous year, when about 7,500 patients traveled here for the procedure from another state.

The number of abortions here for out-of-state women has risen every year since 2014, according to state health data.

While the news of Roe’s potential demise was shocking, Welch said her agency has been preparing for this possibility for the past five years by increasing the number of health centers, expanding access at facilities, creating a new telehealth program and launching the biggest fundraising campaign in the agency’s history.
“We are proud to say that abortion is still safe and legal in Illinois,” Welch said in a written statement. “This is a devastating blow for the millions of people who will suddenly find themselves in an abortion desert; facing a daunting dilemma — travel hundreds of miles to access an abortion, seek an illegal alternative or carry a pregnancy to term against their will. We will continue to fight so that everyone can access the fundamental reproductive health care they need and deserve — no matter what.”


In Chicago, officials were considering ways to make the areas around abortion clinics safer for women walking in and out, Northwest Side Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said Tuesday.

He said options might include strengthening city ordinances that create protected zones around clinics where anti-abortion protesters aren’t permitted, or organizing community groups to escort patients to and from the clinic doors.
“With many neighboring states now likely to outlaw abortions, we need to make sure Chicago remains a safe place for women to turn,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “We’ve seen extremists outside these clinics … so it’s incumbent upon us to make certain we’re doing what we can to ensure that safety.”
As for the Chicago Abortion Fund, Jeyifo said her organization already faces a huge increase in need, as many states have in recent years enacted more burdens on abortion access including restrictions on clinics, gestational limits and mandated waiting periods before a patient can have an abortion.
“Our callers have been living in a post-Roe world for decades,” she said. “This is the reality so many people already face.”

In 2018, the organization provided funds for roughly 180 people seeking an abortion; in 2022, more than 500 people on average are calling for financial assistance each month, she said.


In March, those calls for assistance came from 25 different states, she added.
So far, the fund has been able to help every request that’s come in for the past three years, Jeyifo said. But if Roe falls, she worries that demand might start to exceed their budget.
The thought that some patients could be turned away brought tears to her eyes.
“We are already strained,” she said. “I’m thankful for the outpouring of support. But I’m wondering how we sustain it.”

 
Anyone have a job description for Abortion Fund Executive? I might be looking for a new job soon and that sounds interesting.
 
Illinois: We suck at everything… except weed and abortions!

They also have good veterans benefits, and I didn’t pay state tax while I was in the service. They also have Chicago which beats any city in Iowa. My property taxes do suck, but they hold down the mortgage cost and that leads to another thing Illinois does well. Gentrification.
 
Wait they provide child care for an abortion. Oh the irony. Can you just imagine the childrens books they probably have. Titles such as “sorry you won’t have a brother/sister, your mom is currently grinding them up. “

Or “Can you count to four, a coloring book on the extremities removed during the process”
 
Chicago Abortion Fund Executive Director Megan Jeyifo was at a comedy show when a rapid-fire series of news alerts and text messages lit up her phone: A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion leaked Monday indicated the majority of justices plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, threatening abortion rights throughout much of the nation.
The nonprofit leader was at first outraged and then sorrowful. But suddenly, also on her phone, she saw that donations were pouring in from donors who were just as angry and terrified at the prospect of waning abortion access around the country.
“We’ve been preparing for this,” said Jeyifo, whose organization funds abortions as well as transportation, lodging, child care and other costs associated with travel for the procedure. “Our language has been ‘when Roe falls,’ not ‘if Roe falls.’”

The landmark 1973 Supreme Court case has established the right to an abortion nationwide for nearly 50 years. But if Roe were to be overturned, the matter of abortion rights would be decided by individual states.


While abortion will still be legal in Illinois — which has ensconced reproductive freedoms in state law — experts anticipate that more than half the states in the nation would ban or significantly chip away at the right to terminate a pregnancy. This includes every state surrounding Illinois.

“It felt like a gut punch,” said Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO Jennifer Welch. “I was stunned that the Supreme Court appears poised to ignore 50 years of settled law.”

Welch predicted that anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 additional patients could travel to Illinois each year to terminate a pregnancy if abortion rights are overturned.

This is on top of the ever-increasing number of patients who already cross state lines to come here for the procedure. Nearly 10,000 people came from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, according to the latest data available from the Illinois Department of Public Health. This was a 29% increase over the previous year, when about 7,500 patients traveled here for the procedure from another state.

The number of abortions here for out-of-state women has risen every year since 2014, according to state health data.

While the news of Roe’s potential demise was shocking, Welch said her agency has been preparing for this possibility for the past five years by increasing the number of health centers, expanding access at facilities, creating a new telehealth program and launching the biggest fundraising campaign in the agency’s history.
“We are proud to say that abortion is still safe and legal in Illinois,” Welch said in a written statement. “This is a devastating blow for the millions of people who will suddenly find themselves in an abortion desert; facing a daunting dilemma — travel hundreds of miles to access an abortion, seek an illegal alternative or carry a pregnancy to term against their will. We will continue to fight so that everyone can access the fundamental reproductive health care they need and deserve — no matter what.”


In Chicago, officials were considering ways to make the areas around abortion clinics safer for women walking in and out, Northwest Side Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said Tuesday.

He said options might include strengthening city ordinances that create protected zones around clinics where anti-abortion protesters aren’t permitted, or organizing community groups to escort patients to and from the clinic doors.
“With many neighboring states now likely to outlaw abortions, we need to make sure Chicago remains a safe place for women to turn,” Ramirez-Rosa said. “We’ve seen extremists outside these clinics … so it’s incumbent upon us to make certain we’re doing what we can to ensure that safety.”
As for the Chicago Abortion Fund, Jeyifo said her organization already faces a huge increase in need, as many states have in recent years enacted more burdens on abortion access including restrictions on clinics, gestational limits and mandated waiting periods before a patient can have an abortion.
“Our callers have been living in a post-Roe world for decades,” she said. “This is the reality so many people already face.”

In 2018, the organization provided funds for roughly 180 people seeking an abortion; in 2022, more than 500 people on average are calling for financial assistance each month, she said.


In March, those calls for assistance came from 25 different states, she added.
So far, the fund has been able to help every request that’s come in for the past three years, Jeyifo said. But if Roe falls, she worries that demand might start to exceed their budget.
The thought that some patients could be turned away brought tears to her eyes.
“We are already strained,” she said. “I’m thankful for the outpouring of support. But I’m wondering how we sustain it.”

Also it is amazing that women will drive hundreds of miles and pay hundreds of dollars for an abortion but they are too lazy to drive to the store for a one dollar condom or to their doctors office for a bc prescription
 
Wait they provide child care for an abortion. Oh the irony. Can you just imagine the childrens books they probably have. Titles such as “sorry you won’t have a brother/sister, your mom is currently grinding them up. “

Or “Can you count to four, a coloring book on the extremities removed during the process”
Get a grip.
 
As I already posted in one of the other threads I'm thinking about opening a Cannabortion B & B in Galena. Come for the abortion and stay for the cannabis. Still looking for a co investor. @Moral 's crypto bits didn't cut it with my banker, thus our original deal fell through. Plus the micowavy meals might be a bit over priced for the white trash clientele I hope to cater to...
 
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Wait they provide child care for an abortion. Oh the irony. Can you just imagine the childrens books they probably have. Titles such as “sorry you won’t have a brother/sister, your mom is currently grinding them up. “

Or “Can you count to four, a coloring book on the extremities removed during the process”

Is it, perhaps, as ironic as Republicans saying they’re pro-child and not helping provide child care benefits, funding public health initiatives to help both mother and infant, and supporting the education of said children?

Like that kind of ironic?
 
Is it, perhaps, as ironic as Republicans saying they’re pro-child and not helping provide child care benefits, funding public health initiatives to help both mother and infant, and supporting the education of said children?

Like that kind of ironic?
Drink
 
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Whole lot of fake concern in this thread. Pretty hard to claim compassion when you're cheering on government forced births with zero plans to take care of all these government babies afterwards.
 
Whole lot of fake concern in this thread. Pretty hard to claim compassion when you're cheering on government forced births with zero plans to take care of all these government babies afterwards.
Which goes back to the root of the problem, which is to take responsibility for your actions, then we wouldn’t have to worry about “government babies”. I realize it’s a moot point because responsibility has never really been apart of a democrats vocabulary
 
Which goes back to the root of the problem, which is to take responsibility for your actions, then we wouldn’t have to worry about “government babies”. I realize it’s a moot point because responsibility has never really been apart of a democrats vocabulary
Exactly. Be responsible. Don’t get raped.
 
Which goes back to the root of the problem, which is to take responsibility for your actions, then we wouldn’t have to worry about “government babies”. I realize it’s a moot point because responsibility has never really been apart of a democrats vocabulary
They and their doctors are taking responsibility. It's your side not taking responsibility. You're forcing births and abandoning these government babies just as soon as they exit the woman's body.
 
Also it is amazing that women will drive hundreds of miles and pay hundreds of dollars for an abortion but they are too lazy to drive to the store for a one dollar condom or to their doctors office for a bc prescription
Believe it or not, but we have no shortage of people that continually make poor choices in this country and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon.
 
They also have good veterans benefits, and I didn’t pay state tax while I was in the service. They also have Chicago which beats any city in Iowa. My property taxes do suck, but they hold down the mortgage cost and that leads to another thing Illinois does well. Gentrification.
Waterloo > Chicago
 
Waterloo > Chicago
6f3rt7.jpg
 
They and their doctors are taking responsibility. It's your side not taking responsibility. You're forcing births and abandoning these government babies just as soon as they exit the woman's body.

Taking responsibility by brutally killing their offspring? Your definition of taking responsibility is quite different from mine. If you have unprotected sex with someone you should be responsible enough to take care of any child conceived...
 
Taking responsibility by brutally killing their offspring? Your definition of taking responsibility is quite different from mine. If you have unprotected sex with someone you should be responsible enough to take care of any child conceived...
What if you have a contraceptive failure and the mother is at risk with another pregnancy?
 
Which goes back to the root of the problem, which is to take responsibility for your actions, then we wouldn’t have to worry about “government babies”. I realize it’s a moot point because responsibility has never really been apart of a democrats vocabulary
Do your mostly women coworkers know you think they shouldn’t have the same rights as you? Why do YOU want millions more unwanted kids added to our population?
 
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Do your mostly women coworkers know you think they shouldn’t have the same rights as you? Why do YOU want millions more unwanted kids added to our population?
That’s what Hitler thought of the jews
 
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