For Many Women Seeking Abortions, All Roads Now Lead to Illinois
A year after Dobbs, the Land of Lincoln has become a haven for patients from the Deep South to the Great Lakes.
Now a vital node for reproductive health care.
Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty ImagesJune 24, 2022 was a devastating day for Jennifer Welsch, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. That was the day the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision overruled Roe v. Wade, clearing the way for states to ban or severely restrict abortion.
Welsch was infuriated, but not surprised. She’d been preparing for that moment since 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president. Welsch, like many people involved in abortion care in Illinois, saw the writing on the wall. She realized then that Illinois would likely become a vital destination for women seeking reproductive health care.