Mobile abortion clinic in Illinois to offer services near border states with bans

The announcement came 100 days after the supreme court ruling that stripped away constitutional protections for abortions, allowing states to ban the procedure.

As a result, both existing abortion clinics on the Illinois side of the St Louis region, on the Illinois-Missouri state border, including one operated by Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, have been inundated with extra patients.

The number of patients from outside Missouri and Illinois have increased by more than 340%.

The onslaught of patients means longer waits. Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the St Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said abortion appointment wait times have gone from an average of four days prior to the supreme court ruling to two and a half weeks.

The mobile clinic will travel near the borders of Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. Rodriguez said the it is expected to arrive this month and should be operational by the end of the year.

The vehicle will house two exam rooms, a lab and a waiting room. Initially, it will provide medication abortions up to 11 weeks of gestation. It will provide surgical abortions after the first few months.

McNicholas and Rodriguez declined to discuss safety and security measures for the mobile clinic.

Other efforts have begun around the country to increase abortion access. The nonprofit Just the Pill operates a mobile clinic in Colorado that provides medication abortions.

Spokesperson Kat Mavengere said that early next year Just the Pill will operate a mobile clinic for procedural abortion, also in Colorado.

The organization also plans to expand to other areas, starting with a mobile clinic in Illinois in 2023.

In July, California doctor Meg Autry proposed a floating abortion clinic in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, as a way to maintain access for people in southern states where bans have been enacted.

Some Democrat-led cities like St Louis, meanwhile, have set aside funds to help pregnant women travel to states where abortions are legal.