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Illinois, Wisconsin Planned Parenthood partnership to increase abortion access
Planned Parenthood announced a new partnership Thursday to bring health care professionals to Illinois to help with the increasing demand for abortions.
WAUKEGAN, Ill. - Planned Parenthood announced a new partnership Thursday to bring health care professionals to Illinois to help with the increasing demand for abortions.
Planned Parenthood clinics throughout Wisconsin immediately stopped performing abortions when Roe v. Wade was overturned.
"Except to save the life of the pregnant person, there is no abortion access in the state of Wisconsin," said Tanya Atkinson, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO.
Now, more people are traveling from Wisconsin to Illinois to both receive and perform abortions.
"The decision whether to have a child or not have a child is deeply personal and should be left up to the person to make that decision for themselves. That is why, in addition to providing ob-gyn care in the state of Wisconsin, I am one of the many providers who have decided to commute to Illinois to provide abortion care," said Dr. Allison Linton, PPWI Associate Medical Director.
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Health care providers like Linton will travel to Illinois to perform abortions, under a new partnership between the Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and Planned Parenthood of Illinois. They'll help at increasingly busy clinics, like the one that opened in Waukegan in 2020 to get ready for this moment.
"During this time, we've seen a tenfold increase in patients from Wisconsin coming for care in Illinois. This is clear evidence that abortion bans do not stop people from having abortions. The restrictions and bans only make it harder for people to access essential reproductive health care where they live," said Jennifer Welch, PPIL President and CEO.
"We have also added patient navigators who can work with patients one on one and offer additional travel and financial support. We will really want to remove those barriers for people as much as we're able," said Atkinson.
The partnership comes as another Wisconsin abortion provider has bought property in Rockford to provide the procedure near the border. For the health care professionals crossing state lines, they're licensed in Illinois and not worried about legal issues.
"All care is being provided in Illinois. Both the provider and the patient are in Illinois for all care provisions," said Dr. Linton.
The partnership with Wisconsin is perhaps just the first. Welch, the head of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, says she expects to work with more Midwest states as they restrict or ban abortion.