Illinois will create a $10 million hotline for abortion access

From Today’s Daily Herald…

As another of Illinois’ border states is set to enact a near-total abortion ban this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced several new programs to help address the influx of out-of-state abortion seekers the state has seen in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

On Tuesday, Indiana will join Missouri and Kentucky in its near-total ban on the procedure, while court battles are ongoing over Republican attempts to restrict abortion in Iowa and Wisconsin. Pritzker said Illinois Democrats had been preparing for such a reality even before last summer’s landmark Supreme Court decision.

To expand Illinois’ capacity to care for the sharp increase in abortion-seekers, the state’s Department of Public Health will spend $10 million to create a hotline to aid callers in finding providers and making appointments. Pritzker had proposed the funding in February, and Democratic lawmakers included it in the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget this spring. The hotline is in its beginning stages as IDPH puts out a request for proposals.

Read the full story in today’s Daily Herald