Abortion in Illinois: Gov. JB Pritzker announces new actions to increase access to reproductive care
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday announced new actions targeted to lower barriers of access to reproductive care across the state.
Pritzker joined state leaders, healthcare providers and advocates at the University of Illinois Chicago to announce several initiatives and programs.
"Unlike some other states, in the fourteen months since the Supreme Court made the archaic and destructive decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, Illinois has doubled down on our commitment to protect and expand reproductive rights for patients and providers alike," Pritzker said. "This most recent batch of nation-leading policy expands access even further-because in the Land of Lincoln, we will not go backwards. Illinois will remain a safe haven for women - and I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure widespread, equitable access to reproductive rights."
The initiatives announced Monday include a partnership among state agencies, hospitals and the Chicago Abortion Fund to create a hospital navigation program. CARLA, or Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access, will launch in August. It's designed as a hotline to help women with complicated medical conditions.
"It's intended to reduce disparities for hospital-based abortion care and to speed up medically urgent referrals. It will also relieve the strain on our independent abortion clinics," Pritzker said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health received $10 million for a public facing hotline for abortion service navigation in the 2024 budget.
A Family Planning Program for Medicaid has also been created.
A Capital Grant Program will provide $5 million to support reproductive health care providers in Illinois that are experiencing increased demand for their services.
A reproductive health reimbursement for state employees who work out of state has also been authorized.
Roughly 1,600 female state employees live in states where abortion access is restricted.
"Illinois is dedicating resources to insure that those who are in need of comprehensive family planning services have access to them," IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said.
Illinois previously expanded requirements for insurers to cover birth control and abortion services, including advance prescriptions of medicine for medication abortion, the governor's office said. The state also expanded access to over-the-counter birth control and passed legislation protecting healthcare providers from legal action for treating patients from out of state.
Last week, Pritzker signed a law targeting crisis pregnancy centers, in an effort to counter what he calls misinformation and deceptive practices used to discourage women from seeking abortions.
His announcements Monday come on the eve of a near-total abortion ban that will go into effect Aug. 1 in Indiana, prohibiting abortions in all cases except if the mother's life is at risk.
This could potentially drive even more people to Illinois.
The medical director for one of Illinois' largest abortion providers said they are already being flooded with patients.
"The number of our state patients in our facility has doubled in the past year, and now comprises 1/3 of all patients we care for seeking abortion," said Dr. Allison Cowett, medical director of Family Planning Associates.
Pritzker said he expects abortion to be a major issue once again in the next election cycle.
"People are rising up and taking their rights back, so I expect we will see that in the 2024 elections in a big way," he said.
But the governor said the initiatives announced Monday are not driven by politics.
