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Illinois' neighbors move quickly to ban abortions following Supreme Court ruling

Two of the five states bordering Illinois have already banned abortions following Friday's overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the other three are likely to soon follow suit.

Illinois is one of the only states in the Midwest where abortion services will remain available.

Kentucky had a "trigger law" passed in 2019 automatically banning abortions in the event the 49-year-old Roe decision was overturned.

Missouri had a similar law, but required certification by state officials. The state's attorney general wasted no time Friday morning certifying the high court's ruling and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson quickly signed a proclamation enacting the ban, according to media reports.

Both states have exceptions that allow abortions in the event the mother's life is in danger, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research group.

Wisconsin is among several states that had a law on the books that outlawed abortions before the Roe ruling in 1973 that made abortions legal nationwide.

With Roe overturned, legal experts believe the prior bans are once again enforceable.

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood CEO and President Tanya Atkinson announced clinics in that state were "temporarily suspending abortion services" because "the Supreme Court has taken away our constitutional right to an abortion."

Atkinson said Planned Parenthood workers in Wisconsin would help clients find abortion services in other states and provide "aftercare when they return home."

Guttmacher researchers say 26 states have laws that immediately or eventually allow complete bans on abortions.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the radical step of overturning Roe v. Wade outright, thus unleashing uncertainty and harm onto people asking for nothing more than to exercise their fundamental right to bodily autonomy," said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Guttmacher Institute President and CEO. "While imperfect in its ability to protect reproductive rights, as evidenced by the steady erosions of these rights in many states, Roe enabled tens of millions of people in the United States to decide their own future and protect their well-being."

Indiana legislators have enacted 55 separate abortion restrictions over the past decade, which paves the way for a more comprehensive ban, Guttmacher officials said.

In Iowa, there's already a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, but Republican legislators have signaled their desire to restrict abortion services even more.

Illinois has become a destination for many nonresidents seeking abortion services in recent years. In 2020, nearly 21% of all abortions performed here were for residents of other states, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records.

Six years earlier, out-of-state residents made up 8.1% of all abortions in Illinois.

Missouri's Planned Parenthood chapter opened a clinic just across the Mississippi River in Illinois to continue providing services in the event Roe was overturned.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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