East Central Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) is highlighting the recent rise of out-of-state patients arriving at abortion clinics across Illinois.

"Pregnant moms have reportedly traveled from more than 30 states to kill their preborn babies in Illinois," the legislator said in a recent Facebook post.

In the post, Halbrook shared a link to LifeSite News, which quoted Planned Parenthood as saying that abortions are up 54%.

"We are seeing people from places as far away as Texas and Florida, where they have nothing, no access in between their home state and Illinois,” Brigid Leahy, vice president of Planned Parenthood Illinois, told News Channel 20 and quoted by LifeSite. “Imagine having to travel hundreds of miles to get the care [sic] that you need. The increase is directly the result of other states banning abortion.”

Abortion on demand has been legalized in the state of Illinois until “fetal viability,” which is generally considered to be after 22-28 weeks of pregnancy. Under some broadly defined exceptions, the procedure can even be legal up until birth. In 2019, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation that codified abortion as a “fundamental right.”

Planned Parenthood Illinois reported that they saw 750 patients in just the first week after Roe v. Wade was overturned, CBS News Chicago said recently. The CBS report also noted that the 2019 law Pritzker signed was an enhancement of a law signed by his Republican predecessor Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017. That 2017 law codified abortion as legal in the state and provided insurance and Medicaid coverage for it as well.

A March news release from Halbrook's office stated that House Bill 2467 would do away with the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, a law that since 2012 has been responsible for a more than 55% reduction in abortions involving Illinois minors.

“Taking away parental notification would also make Illinois more of an abortion destination as teens in other states would seek to take advantage of the lack of parental notification requirements in Illinois and have their abortions here,” Halbrook said in the release. “Illinois taxpayers could potentially be paying the bill for minors from other states to come here and get abortions. We must stop the efforts to eliminate our parental notification laws.”