Planned Parenthood of Illinois opened a new clinic in Carbondale Tuesday, expanding access to abortions and gender-affirming care.
“Planned Parenthood of Illinois opened a health center in Carbondale to meet the needs of Illinois residents across the state, as well as folks from neighboring states, as those states continue to enact restrictive bans on access to abortion, and we recognize that patients are increasingly forced to travel from their home states for care,’’ said Hannah Mitchel, grassroots organizer for Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “In fact, Planned Parenthood of Illinois experienced a 54% increase in overall abortion care since Roe was overturned in 2022.”
The new center is located at 200 Emerald Lane. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Illinois has seen the highest increase in patients traveling from other states. PPPIL… has seen an unprecedented number of out-of-state patients traveling from 38 different states making up nearly a quarter of the abortion patients, according to PPIL.
Mitchell said, the Carbondale Health Center was actually funded as a part of the $40 million RESOLVE campaign to expand access to abortion and reproductive care, which started when Roe was overturned,
A spokeswoman for PPIL said. “The RESOLVE campaign was aimed to expand access to care as we knew the effects that the overturning of Roe with creates….This included expanding access, which includes opening the Carbondale health center, online medical record system …and also hiring new staff.’
The Carbondale Health Center has five education rooms, four procedure rooms, three exam/ ultrasound rooms, a kids' playroom, as well as a conference room and administrative space, according to Planned Parenthood of Illinois. In addition to abortion care, the more than 11,000-foot center offers services such as cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming health care, HIV testing and treatment medication, and abortion.
Meanwhile, Molly Rumley, a lobbyist for Illinois Right to Life said, “It is a sad day for Illinoisans when a new Planned Parenthood Clinic is opened. I question whether Illinoisans want to be known for being an abortion capitol” rather than for its rich history and tourism sites
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