Why So Many More Women Are Coming To Illinois For Abortions

By Char Daston
Abortion rights supporters and opponents rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 20.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 20.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 20.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 20.

Why So Many More Women Are Coming To Illinois For Abortions

By Char Daston
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Out-of-state women appear to be flocking to Illinois to have abortions.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the number jumped from 3,210 in 2015 to 5,528 in 2017. Before that, the number hovered around 3,000 per year.

Morning Shift explores whether restrictive abortion laws in neighboring states like Iowa and Indiana are driving the trend and what the experience of going to another state for an abortion is like for women.

GUEST: Katie Watson, professor of bioethics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, author of the book Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, And Politics Of Ordinary Abortion

LEARN MORE: More than 5,500 women came to Illinois to have an abortion last year amid growing restrictions in the Midwest (Chicago Tribune 11/30/18)

2017 Abortion Statistics

(Illinois Department of Public Health)