With Roe v. Wade reversal expected, Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledges $500K for abortion access in Chicago

The city of Chicago will spend $500,000 to support abortion access for residents and people from neighboring states in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday.

The money will go toward transportation, lodging, care “and, if necessary, safe and legal access to an abortion procedure,” Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot’s pledge comes after a leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling previewed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case. Reiterating a concern she first expressed after the opinion leaked, Lightfoot said the case’s repeal could lead to gay and interracial marriages being outlawed.

“The architects of this destruction will not stop at a woman’s right to choose,” she said in a statement released last week, the day the draft decision was first reported by Politico. “The Court’s draft opinion will establish a precedent for gutting the legal underpinnings used to protect against gender-based discrimination overall including women’s rights, trans rights, immigrant rights, and of course, the right to same-sex and interracial marriage. This decision truly epitomizes the dangers that exist at the intersection of racism and sexism.”

Lightfoot’s announced the new funding as part of what the city called the “Justice for All Pledge,” made in direct response to the leaked draft of the Supreme Court ruling.

“This pledge signals that the City will continue to be a safe haven for all who are unjustly denied the resources and opportunities they deserve; to fight for the rights of all people; and to ensure that no person will be attacked, assaulted, bullied, or discriminated against because of who they are, the choices they make regarding their bodily autonomy, or who they love,” a news release said.

As it relates to reproductive health, the pledge is to “protect and increase access for all safe reproductive, obstetric, and gynecological healthcare regardless of the patient’s age, sex, gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, place of residence, or immigration status in order to support the choices of all people to have or not bear children on their terms.”