$23 M in new abortion funds

Chicago | Illinois Governor J.B.

Pritzker announced $23 million in new spending on abortion services in Illinois at the same time a federal court was considering the validity of the “deceptive practices” law aimed at prolife crisis pregnancy centers. Pritzker called a press conference July 31 to explain how the state is continuing to “double down on our commitment” to abortion.

One program is a hotline to assist women in scheduling appointments at hospitals. It’s a partnership of two state agencies, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Rush University Medical Center, and the Chicago Abortion Fund (CFA). The CFA will fund procedures, transportation, lodging, and childcare.

Another program dedicates funds to cover the travel expenses for the 1,600 state workers and their families who do not live in Illinois but may travel to the state to obtain an abortion. Medic- aid recipients will be eligible for annual preventative exams, abortions, contraceptives, and infertility counseling, along with other services and procedures.

The programs will be paid for by a mix of federal Medicaid and Title X funding. Plus, some state agencies already had funds in their budgets to provide for the start-up costs of the new programs.

Pritzker and other speakers continued calling Illinois a “safe haven” for what they called abortion “refugees” from surrounding states that regulate or ban the procedure.