Surrounded by states with abortion restrictions, Illinois has become a destination for patients from across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Illinois abortion providers took care of 23% of the approximately 155,000 Americans who traveled out of state to get abortions in 2024, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute, an independent abortion policy research organization.

“For our abortion services, we do have almost 50% that are coming from out of state,” said Adrienne White-Faines, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois. For clinics closer to Illinois’ southern border, up to 90% of patients they see come from another state, she said.

Planned Parenthood Illinois sees about 112,000-115,000 patients a year, White-Faines said, and 30% of those visits are for abortion care. Planned Parenthood also provides gender-affirming care, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and other family planning services.

After the overturning of Roe, several states had abortion bans go into effect automatically, and many Republican-led states passed bans following the decision. As a result, interstate abortion travel almost doubled, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

“Our challenge is not to see it as a strain, but to make sure that we are constantly working to maintain an infrastructure so that we can continue to service our patients and meet their needs throughout the state,” White-Faines said.

Because of increased volume and uncertainty about federal funding, Planned Parenthood Illinois in January 2025 announced the closure of four clinics to expand services at 13 other clinics in the state and increase telehealth services.

Telehealth allows patients to consult with physicians remotely and have abortion medication mailed to them. Medication abortion is the most common and popular method in the U.S, and it has lessened the need for out-of-state travel in some instances. White-Faines said the demand ebbs and flows for the two kinds of appointments.

In the three years since Roe was overturned, the challenge of meeting increased demand,“has stabilized,” she said.

“Actually, our greatest challenges are meeting the additional needs of our other services that also continue to increase,” she said.

State support

High demand is the catalyst for the new Prairie State Access Fund, the latest partnership between Illinois and providers to support access to reproductive care. The fund, managed by the Michael Reese Health Trust, will raise money to address specific, immediate needs to support the clinics and other organizations that provide abortion care in Illinois so they can continue their work.

The fund is primarily meant to provide flexible funding to assist with the volume of out-of-state patients who aren’t covered by programs like Illinois Medicaid.

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Elizabeth Whitehorn, director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, said the fund will “complement” state efforts by filling gaps for out-of-state patients that state programs don’t cover.

No state money went to the fund’s launch, though the state worked with the Michael Resse Health Trust to create it, and state agencies will coordinate with the fund to provide information about demand and clinic strain.

Given how many patients come from other states, members of the fund’s steering committee say they will pursue donors from outside of the state as well.

“This is not just an Illinois responsibility,” said Heather Steans, a steering committee member and former state lawmaker, at a news conference announcing the fund. “We are serving people from across the Midwest and the country who have nowhere else to turn. That means this a national responsibility and a national opportunity and a national call to action.”

Illinois is unique in the country in its support for reproductive health care.

The state’s 2019 Reproductive Health Act establishes abortion as a fundamental right and a procedure like any other type of health care. Recent updates to that law include protection from out-of-state investigations for Illinois providers and for patients who come from elsewhere.

In 2025, the HFS invested $4 million in Medicaid family planning services to offset the federal government blocking Medicaid funding for health care providers that perform abortions. This ensured Planned Parenthood locations in the state could still get Medicaid reimbursements.

In 2019, Illinois established the HFS Family Planning Program so people who don’t qualify for full Medicaid coverage can access comprehensive family planning services. The program also allows Medicaid patients to get a full year of contraceptives at once after a pregnancy ends.

Illinois also established the Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access, or CARLA, in 2023. The hotline collaborates between the Chicago Abortion Fund and four hospitals to help people who need hospital-based care navigate the process.

“One of the reasons that we’re able to be so resilient is because we are in Illinois,” White-Faines said.

‘The national model’

The Illinois Department of Public Health, HFS and the governor’s office also work with providers and organizations to ensure Illinoisans can access abortion care.

Megan Jeyifo, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, said Illinois has been “an incredible partner” that regularly asks what they need.

“We do have really integral and necessary investment from the state,” Jeyifo said. “And at the Chicago Abortion Fund, we also have investment from the city and county, which allows us to make sure that our clinics in Illinois can be open not just for people traveling, but also for the Illinoisans who need care.”

Chicago Abortion Fund provides financial assistance to abortion-seekers based on need. That can include appointments, child care, lodging, meals and flights. The fund also helps people coordinate those details. According to its website, Chicago Abortion Fund assisted more than 50,000 people since 2022, 85% of whom are from outside of Illinois.

Last year, Jeyifo said, Chicago Abortion Fund invested nearly $2 million to help independent clinics increase their capacity to see patients. It distributed nearly $10 million for travel and appointments at Planned Parenthood clinics, independent clinics, telehealth providers and hospitals.

“(People) are coming here not just because of proximity, although it’s lovely to be in the middle of it all,” Jeyifo said. “But it’s also due to the resources that are available in our state.”

Jeyifo said Chicago Abortion Fund has met the demand by hiring more staff and launching new programs to support patients. One is a pantry program at six clinics around the state to provide small items travelers forgot. The other is a doula program, for people who want company as they go through the abortion process.

“We truly believe that Illinois is the national model for this work, for how abortion care and health care can be delivered,” Jeyifo said. “Those innovative programs have been really integral to just being able to push access forward.”

 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.