Groups offer to pay travel costs for women seeking abortions in southwest Illinois

Two metro-east clinics that offer abortions announced on Friday that they have established a new service to help pay travel costs for out-of-state women coming to Illinois to terminate their pregnancies.

Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, which has a clinic in Fairview Heights, and the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City will operate the Regional Logistics Center, which is located in the Planned Parenthood’s center in Fairview Heights.

The logistics center is being billed as a “travel agency,” where women can get assistance in arranging and funding travel to the metro-east. This help includes covering the cost of plane tickets and lodging. There are no income limits for participants.

The announcement of the new center was made on the eve of the 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The anniversary being observed by both sides of the abortion issue. The Associated Press reports the court has “indicated it will allow states to impose tighter restrictions on abortion” this year and “possibly overturn” the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that affirmed the constitutional right to an abortion.

In Washington, D.C., anti-abortion protesters gathered on Friday for the annual March for Life rally. The New York Times reported that persons at the rally were optimistic the Supreme Court would make a ruling in their favor this year.

The Times reported that Jeanne Mancini, the president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund, which has organized the march since 1974, said, “We are hoping and praying that this year, 2022, will bring a historic change for life.”

Supporters of abortion rights said they see the metro-east logistics center as a way to counter restrictions imposed in other states even if Roe v. Wade is reversed.

“While this could likely be the last year we honor Roe v. Wade as the law of the land, seeing rights, justice, and health leaders come together brings me hope in our collective work to re-build something better in its place,” Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said in a news release.

“Together, we’re breaking down the silos anti-abortion politicians created and proving that in community, with innovation, and determination, we can secure a future with abortion access, which Roe never guaranteed.”

The Regional Logistics Center offers a “one-stop” call center for patients who may have to travel to the metro-east for an abortion.

Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, spokeswoman for the Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, said case workers at the logistics center will guide patients as they make appointments for either the Planned Parenthood site in Fairview Heights or the Hope Clinic in Granite City.

Lee-Gilmore recommended patients go to the Planned Parenthood website for more information about the services offered by the logistics center.

Leaders of the two groups were joined by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker during an online news conference and a meeting which aired on Instagram afterward.

Pritzker noted that state and local funding was not used for the Regional Logistics Center but that “it’s funded by a lot of private partners.”

“I’m so grateful for partners including Planned Parenthood and the Hope Clinic for Women who have responded to these growing threats with an ever-increasing commitment to serve patients in need,” Pritzker said in a statement.

“Illinois is, and will continue to be, a beacon of hope in the heart of this nation when it comes to standing up for fundamental rights.”

In 2019, Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Act which establishes the “fundamental right” of a woman to have an abortion and states that a “fertilized egg, embryo or fetus does not have independent rights.” The bill also eliminated felony penalties for doctors that perform abortions and removed waiting periods, the newspaper reported.

Last month, Pritzker signed a law that ends parental notification, a requirement that doctors notify the parents of a minor seeking an abortion, Capitol News Illinois reported.

Pritzker said he is “very concerned” that almost half of the states will restrict abortion rights and reproductive rights.

Increase in patients

The two metro-east clinics said they have seen an increase in patients since a Texas law restricting abortions went into effect in September.

The Texas law bans abortion after cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, usually around six weeks. That’s before some women know they’re pregnant, The Associated Press reported.

While the Regional Logistics Center was officially unveiled on Friday, the caseworkers have been working on the new service for several weeks, Lee-Gilmore said.

In recent weeks, the center has provided 138 rides and flights and has housed dozens of patients who needed to stay overnight, according to the groups’ news release.

If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, Planned Parenthood estimates 14,000 out-of-state patients will travel to Southern Illinois for abortions. They will come from states including Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the group’s study.

Lee-Gilmore described the center as the only one of its kind under the Planned Parenthood organization nationwide.

Rodríguez said planning for the Regional Logistics Center has been going on for two years and it was “not a direct response” of what could happen in the Supreme Court this year.

“Initially we thought that this was going to be an opportunity to better serve patients’ needs in the Midwest but what I can tell you is that we are prepared to scale up the operations of the Regional Logistics Center,” she said when asked about the potential impact of a Supreme Court decision reversing Roe v. Wade.

The Hope Clinic and Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region over the last two years have made a $10 million investment in building capacity, infrastructure and technology, Rodríguez said.

Planned Parenthood opened a new clinic in Fairview Heights in 2019 at 317 Salem Place after previously being located on North Illinois Street for 19 years in Fairview Heights.

The Hope Clinic for Women is in Granite City at 1602 21st St.