Champaign Planned Parenthood Now Offering In-Clinic Abortions In Response To Indiana Ban

CHAMPAIGN, IL — As Indiana’s abortion ban goes into effect, an Illinois clinic is taking steps to prepare for an expected influx of out-of-state patients.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced this week that its Champaign location would offer in-clinic abortions for the first time, doubling access to the service in central Illinois.

“We anticipated Indiana residents losing access to abortion care, so we decided to expand our care in Champaign,” said Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, in a news release.

The Indiana ban was the first passed by a state legislature after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade this summer, according to the Washington Post, but the ban did not go into effect until Thursday. Thirteen states had similar bans that preceded Roe or were triggered when the ruling was overturned, the Post reported, including neighboring Ohio, although that ban was temporarily suspended Wednesday by a judge.

A pair of lawsuits to block the Indiana ban are pending, according to the Post, which reported the state prohibits all abortions except for those due to rape, incest, the patient’s life and physical health, and lethal fetal anomaly. In Illinois and Ohio, wait times for abortions range from days to weeks, the Post reported.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois now offers in-clinic abortions at seven of its 17 centers, all of which provide medication abortion. The Springfield and Fairview Heights locations already offered the in-clinic option, as did Hope Clinic of Granite City, according to WCIA. Choices Center for Reproductive Health has plans to open a clinic this month in Carbondale, according to its website.

Champaign is about 40 miles from the Indiana state line. The Planned Parenthood expansion in Champaign increases the facility’s footprint by 5,000 square feet. Since Roe was overturned, the health center has seen abortion patients from 11 states outside Illinois, with the most coming from Indiana, according to Planned Parenthood, which said 11 percent of its Champaign abortion patients are from Indiana and that number is expected to rise.

Abortion costs tend to be higher for out-of-state patients, according to WCIA, which noted Planned Parenthood offers financial aid.