Abortion will remain ‘safe and legal’ in Illinois, Pritzker says. The metro-east is a hub.
This story was updated at 10:34 a.m. to reflect confirmation of the leaked document’s authenticity.
If the country’s highest court overturns a ruling protecting the right to have an abortion, Illinois will remain a “safe and legal” place for people to seek reproductive care, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.
“No matter what atrocity of an opinion the Supreme Court officially rolls out this summer in regards to Roe versus Wade, abortion will always be safe and legal here in Illinois,” Pritzker said at a news conference in Chicago. “Illinois is and will remain a beacon of hope in an increasingly dark world. I will fight like hell.”
The governor spoke following the leak of a draft opinion from a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices that would overturn the 1973 ruling. The authenticity of the draft, first published by Politico, was questioned Tuesday morning until Chief Justice Roberts confirmed its legitimacy and ordered an investigation into the leak.
Justices could still change their votes when they rule on the case, likely in the next two months.
Abortion rights advocates have long predicted the fall of Roe v. Wade. As an accessible region to conservative Midwest and southern states, the metro-east is at the center of the preparation for more patients to seek care in Illinois.
If Roe is reversed, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis region expects upwards of 14,000 patients from Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, to travel to southern Illinois for abortions. The organization’s analysis estimates all the states bordering Illinois would move quickly to ban it.
Two metro-east clinics that offer abortions announced in January a service to help pay travel costs for out-of-state patients coming to Illinois.
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 located in the Planned Parenthood’s center in Fairview Heights.
The logistics center is being billed as a “travel agency,” where patients 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.
Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said the draft “previews what we’ve long been preparing for.” She said patients should continue to go to their appointments.
“We knew this opinion was coming and while it’s not official, it brings us one step closer to an impending public health crisis,” Rodríguez said. “Abortion remains legal today. No matter what, with our partners, we will fight for what little is left of abortion access in Missouri and push forward to expand in Illinois where abortion access is protected beyond Roe.”
Small Victories Ministries, a Highland-based anti-abortion group, said overturning Roe v. Wade will “bring more shame to our state.”
“Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, once known for its vast cornfields, Chicago’s towering sky-scrapers, and blue collared industries, is once again making history as the nation’s ‘Abortion travel agency hub,’” the group wrote in an email. “Now with the looming Roe v. Wade decision being overturned and placed into the hands of states, Illinois will be infamously known as the ‘abortion refuge state.’”
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Republican from Taylorville, said he advocates for an end to Roe v. Wade, but that the leak represents “attempt to intimidate the justices on this case and sway their opinion.”
Reporter Mike Koziatek contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 9:59 AM.
