Tuesday, August 23, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, visited the Rogers Park Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) location following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Congresswoman was accompanied by Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, and Monique Cortina, Manager of the Rogers Park Planned Parenthood facility.
At the facility, Schakowsky spoke with providers about the influx of patients in recent months. Before Roe was overturned, PPIL scheduled abortions for around 100 out-of-state patients each month. In the first week after the ruling, the number of abortion patients scheduled from other states increased to around 800 patients. This month, PPIL saw more out-of-state abortion patients than ever before with nearly 30% of those abortion patients traveling from another state.
“In Illinois, abortions remain legal as they have been for decades, but when I visited the wonderful, Rogers Park Planned Parenthood location yesterday, it became clear the overturning of Roe v. Wade has dramatically impacted our Illinois providers. Since the court’s ruling, there has been an influx of out-of-state patients at our health centers,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “The grotesque bans that were put in place disproportionately impact low-income families and communities of color. In addition, several anti-abortion states have also fought to ban healthcare providers, like Planned Parenthood, from Medicaid, preventing Medicaid recipients from using Planned Parenthood facilities for their routine health care needs, oftentimes creating health deserts. I will not stop fighting until reproductive freedom and access to routine care is restored across the land.”
“Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) thanks Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky for visiting our Rogers Park health center,” said Jennifer Welch, President, and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “Because abortion is legal and safe in Illinois, our state is now a haven for care in the Midwest as millions of people find themselves in a vast abortion desert. PPIL has seen more out-of-state patients than ever before in the last two months after the SCOTUS stripped away the constitutional right of abortion. We are meeting the surge in demand through expanded capacity, flexible scheduling, and our innovative partnership with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to expand care across the state. PPIL continues to take active steps to break down unnecessary barriers to essential health care for both in-state and out-of-state patients traveling far distances to access the care they need and deserve. We also extend a wholehearted thank you to Congresswoman Schakowsky for fighting to secure crucial reproductive health care for all.”
This Congress, Congresswoman Schakowsky was proud to vote for numerous bills that would protect a person’s fundamental right to bodily autonomy. The Women’s Health Protection Act would enshrine the protections of Roe, and restore the nationwide right to an abortion, securing Americans’ control over their own reproductive decisions and bodily autonomy. The Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act would ensure Americans retain the fundamental and Constitutional right to travel between states to access reproductive care. Finally, the Right to Contraception Act would ensure patients can continue accessing contraception and that health care providers can continue prescribing it.
