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* Capitol News Illinois…
Abortion prohibitions were common throughout the U.S. until Jan. 22, 1973, when the court, in a 7-2 ruling in Roe v. Wade, declared that access to abortion during the first two trimesters of pregnancy was protected as part of a fundamental right to privacy and that states had only limited authority to regulate the procedure.
For a time after that, Illinois was among a handful of states to enact so-called “trigger laws” that would reinstate the ban on abortion if Roe v. Wade was overturned.
A 1975 “trigger law” remained on the books in Illinois until 2017 when then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, signed House Bill 40 to repeal the trigger law and allow abortions to be covered under the state’s medical assistance program and the state employee’s health insurance system.
Prior to that law, Illinois had only covered abortion services in cases of rape or incest, or when there was a threat to the life or health of the mother. The new law, however, extended that to anyone who was covered by the state’s Medicaid program.
But because federal Medicaid rules do not allow public funding of abortion, the services in Illinois are paid for entirely with state funds.
* Sun-Times…
An April 2021 survey by Public Policy Polling concluded 73% of respondents agreed abortion “should remain legal in Illinois as a private decision between a woman and her doctor, not politicians.”
* Belleville News-Democrat…
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 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. 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.”
* Sun-Times…
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 7,534 nonresidents received abortions in Illinois in 2019, compared with 5,529 in 2017 and 2,970 in 2014.
* Tribune…
[Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO Jennifer 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. […]
In 2018, the [Chicago Abortion Fund,] 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.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:43 am
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Golly, I wonder why Richard Irvin is being so cowardly about this issue…
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:53 am
Crime will overshadow Abortion, especially after an actual ruling…
You watch…
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:55 am
The survey questions is written to bring forth the result desired. When people are asked if they want taxpayer funded abortion the support falls dramatically.
Comment by Needs Deleted Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:05 am
Yesterday, Rich provided a link to Alito’s opinion. A quick look at the appendices is fascinating and frightening at the same time. Alito argues the states have always regulated abortion, and provides state by state laws (including IL). What is frightening is that his argument is premised upon state legislation dating back to the mid-1800s (and earlier). That suggests he would have us return to an era when no women in the U.S. had citizenship rights, but were in fact the property of their fathers and husbands. It is a call for a return to barbarism, in which the states are allowed to race toward the bottom of civilization.
Comment by H-W Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:14 am
H-W yes, interesting and terrifying. the appendix goes to 1825 so what about before that? no laws against it? and what of the last 50 year? the history does not exist? Let’s hope we don’t have to go back to the Janes, a group that existed in Chicago starting in the 60s. How old were the Justices when Roe was decided? Alito and Thomas were in their 20s. Gorsuch, 6, Kavanaugh 8 and ACBarrett a year old. Three of those justices have spent their entire public policy alert lives with Roe as law. This is a fight.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:22 am
“The survey questions is written to bring forth the result desired.”
Yes, and the desired result was an answer to the question “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Abortion should remain legal in Illinois as a private decision between a woman
and her doctor, not politicians?”
And 73% of Illinoisans agreed.
You can take your tinfoil hat off, now.
There’s no conspiracy here.
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:36 am
==Golly, I wonder why Richard Irvin is being so cowardly about this issue==
While the fervent pro-choice crowd isn’t exactly chomping at the bit to crossover to Republican candidates, can Irvin align with the majority stance (acceptable in first term, not so much after that) and not alienate his base? Is there nuance on the subject? Probably no to both.
Irvin can differentiate himself on the matter and paint JB into a corner, but it’s going to require him to toughen up.
Comment by City Zen Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:43 am
Mister Jay Em. You have been around this blog a long time, and you understand how polling works. No tinfoil hat on over here. Just pointing out something obvious.
Comment by Needs Deleted Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:57 am
= can Irvin align with the majority stance (acceptable in first term, not so much after that) and not alienate his base?=
The supreme court ruling will require a binary response, not a nuanced one. JB’s providing unequivocal support for a woman’s choice. He wants to strengthen those protections not limit them. And most people don’t equate choice with being extreme. So how exactly does Irvin paint JB into a corner?
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:08 pm
==When people are asked if they want taxpayer funded abortion the support falls dramatically.==
Roe v. Wade wasn’t about using taxpayer funds for abortions. It was about whether abortion should be a legal option for a woman and her medical provider to choose.
If the poll was to gauge opinion on Roe v. Wade why would they ask a question that is not germane?
Comment by SomeGuy Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:29 pm
=and not alienate his base? Is there nuance on the subject?=
If he’s doesn’t go full pro-life, any red meaters who vote for him in the primary will evaporate. And Dems - after an official opinion - are pretty unlikely to cross over for any Republican. The curtain will have been raised and R’s true intentions known - a complete ban on all abortions, forcing women to carry their rapists babies to term, the elimination of gay marriage, the criminalization of private sexual acts
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:45 pm
==When people are asked if they want taxpayer funded abortion the support falls dramatically. ==
“Should abortion be legal?” and “do you want to pay for them?” are two separate questions though. That support for them is different makes sense; different things are often treated differently.
==Irvin can differentiate himself on the matter and paint JB into a corner, but it’s going to require him to toughen up. ==
Irvin identifies as pro-life and picked Avery Bourne as his running mate.
(Well, ok, she was picked for him.)
I don’t believe it’s possible for him to nuance this issue, he will come to be seen as the pro-life candidate. His silence on the issue doesn’t help him. His opponents will gladly fill in for him with their own noise.
His best chance is to hope this issue goes away and that the election is all about crime. His odds of that aren’t horrible.
Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:53 pm
My takeaway is that Southern Illinois is going to see an economic boom in the abortion business. That’s lots of doctors being paid to do abortions and lots of hotels and care facilities being paid to house those patients. I would love for someone to do a tax and revenue analysis based on the additional abortions being done in Illinois from outside of Illinois. Let’s see how the local
elected officials react when their communities suddenly have this additional revenue stream.
Comment by Unionman Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 1:45 pm
“You have been around this blog a long time, and you understand how polling works.”
I do: When people don’t like the fact that a poll shows that nearly three out of four voters disagree with their position, they often claim that the poll’s question was rigged.
“Just pointing out something obvious.”
I was just pointing out something obvious: the objective nature of the question asked in the poll.
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 4:01 pm
HW and Amelia - not saying the reason is right or wrong, but the theory behind for looking at those time periods is because they correspond to the time period when the 13th-15th amendments were added to the Constitution. The originalist appropach to interpretation in this vein is to consider what rights/privileges/immunities were enjoyed by the people when those amendments were enacted, and if they weren’t common/widespead, then that would not suffice to claim XYZ law is infringing on a historically recognized right …
Comment by Mary Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 5:55 pm