A second new abortion clinic opened in Illinois this year – while they're closing in surrounding states – and drew the attention of the Illinois Right to Life. As reported last week in Illinois Review, Carafem Clinics advertise performing abortions, saying "There's no shame in it."
A spokesperson for the Carafem Clinic located in Skokie Illinois told the Chicago Tribune that Carafem set up their third clinic nationwide in the Chicago area because Illinois’ has relaxed abortion laws, possibly drawing expectant mothers seeking abortions from other states.
“This is just one more indicator that the legal situation in our state is dire,” said Mary Kate Knorr, executive director for Illinois Right to Life. “This is the second clinic to open [in Illinois] this year alone, following Governor Bruce Rauner’s historic betrayal of pro-lifers in signing HB 40. Illinois’ lax abortion laws have made it the abortion ‘oasis’ of the Midwest and created an environment where clinics like this can thrive and literally capitalize on women from other states.”
In January of this year, House Bill 40 went into effect, requiring Illinois taxpayers to cover the cost of abortions for those on Medicaid and state employee health insurance, through the full nine months of pregnancy and for any reason. Soon after, Planned Parenthood opened a new abortion clinic in Flossmoor, Illinois.
The Illinois News Network reported a 274% increase in taxpayer funded abortions in Illinois, from January to June of this year. This is nearly four times more taxpayer funded abortions in the first six months of 2018 than in the previous year.
In 2016 alone, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 38,382 abortions had taken place in the state of Illinois. Among these abortions, 4,543 were performed on women from out of state, a significant increase of 1,333 abortions in comparison to the previous year.
In light of the recent configuration of the US Supreme Court, the abortion chain, according to the Chicago Tribune, is resolved to “normalize” and “destigmatize” abortion through advertising tactics and other means.
“No matter what type of fancy rhetoric you choose to use, you can never ‘normalize’ the systematic and brutal killing of unborn human beings, putting women’s health and safety at risk, and then capitalizing on all of this for profit,” said Knorr.
