Illinois abortion clinics have been flooded with patients since Roe overturning; new Indiana law could mean even more
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- More than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a better idea is emerging of how big the impact has been on Illinois clinics.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois says in the past month, they typically saw around 100 patients from other states every month.
But after Roe was overturned, PPIL said they saw 750 new patients in just the first week. The call volume at PPIL also doubled in the days after the Supreme Court decision.
PPIL said in the first month after the overturning of Roe, patients from Wisconsin increased 10 times over the previous average.
PPIL also noted that before the overturn, it typically saw patients from 10 to 15 states besides Illinois each month, with the most out-of-state patients coming from neighboring states – Wisconsin and Indiana. But since Roe fell, PPIL reported it has seen patients from 20 states.
Most are now coming from Wisconsin and Ohio, states that now have strict laws against abortion. More patients than ever before are also coming from Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Texas.
There are concerns those numbers could shoot even higher, as Indiana has now passed its own abortion ban.
Indiana late Friday night became the first state in the nation to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
The Indiana Legislature on Friday approved the near-total abortion ban with some exceptions, including in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life and physical health of the mother.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb immediately signed the bill.
Indiana was among the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws after the Supreme Court ruling that removed constitutional protections for the procedure.
