Since last week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, one state after another has outlawed abortion. Illinois is one of the few states in the middle of the country where people can still legally access abortion care.
In this report co-produced by PBS NewsHour, KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney traveled from Illinois’ border with Missouri to its border with Wisconsin to talk to clinicians who provide abortion care. Dr. Erin King is the executive director of Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.
King said she already sees more patients from outside Illinois who have traveled far to get care. “The distance has increased and people’s resources have decreased,” King said, adding that some patients think the procedure is illegal everywhere.