Abortion Pill Now Available Through The Mail To Illinois Residents

ILLINOIS — As the likely reversal of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision draws closer, Planned Parenthood has announced it will start distributing an abortion pill through the mail in some states across the country, including Illinois.

The organization said on Monday that it is providing the medication to residents who qualify for the pill as a way of breaking down "unnecessary barriers to health care," Planned Parenthood officials said in a news release.

The organization said that it will also extend its services to underserved parts of Illinois, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to keep abortion legal. The governor and other state officials said in a news conference earlier this month that Illinois will remain a beacon of hope in an ever-darkening world. The announcement came after a leaked opinion of an upcoming Supreme Court decision indicated that the court would overturn the 1973 ruling that makes abortion legal throughout the United States.

"Now more than ever it’s crucial that our patients can access the care they need, when and where they need it," Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood, said in a news release on Monday.

The plan to start mailing the abortion medication through the mail comes five months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration eased regulations on the abortion medication.

Planned Parenthood said in the news release that it has been approving prescriptions for the bill to patients through Telehealth appointments. However, before now, patients had to visit a clinic to pick up the medication in order to obtain the pills.

There are 17 Planned Parenthood clinics in Illinois, including seven in various Chicago neighborhoods including Austin, Englewood, downtown, Rogers Park, Roseland, and Wicker Park. The agency also has four suburban Chicago clinics in Aurora, Flossmoor, Orland Park and Waukegan.

The agency said Monday that patients will still need to have a prescription for the medication, but have been able to have it mailed to an in-state address since April.

Patients from other states can still access abortion pills, but they must travel to Illinois to have the telehealth or in-person visit, and then pick up the medication at a clinic in Illinois, according to Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

The agency said that it will expand services at its clinics to provide more services to people who come to Illinois to receive the abortion medication, which is generally used early on in pregnancy. Illinois health officials said that in 2020 alone, more than 10,000 women came to the state from neighboring states to have abortions performed.