An Illinois abortion clinic on the Wisconsin border is a window into the post-Roe world
On a recent weekday afternoon, Ezra Figueroa is giving a tour of Planned Parenthood of Illinois' clinic in Waukegan, about 20 minutes from the Wisconsin border.
The space is big and quiet, except for Michael Jackson tunes and other hits playing in the background. There are hardwood floors throughout, and exam rooms typical of a doctor's office.
There's also this - a shiny silver vault in the break room that Figueroa, the assistant health center manager, is unsuccessfully trying to open.
"Can't get inside of it. I really wish we could," Figueroa said. "But it's really cool to just have here."
The vault is a reminder of what this health center used to be - a big bank on a busy retail strip - and what Planned Parenthood of Illinois saw in its future. This clinic opened two years ago with Wisconsin in mind, an acknowledgment that if Roe v. Wade was overturned - as it was in June - a state law would largely strip away access to abortion in that state. Indeed, that happened immediately.
So recently, Planned Parenthood organizations in Illinois and Wisconsin announced a deal. More than a dozen employees from Wisconsin - including doctors, nurses and medical assistants - are commuting to Waukegan. Some come a few times a week; some a few times a month.
"It really required this perfect pairing of supply and demand," Kristen Schultz, Planned Parenthood of Illinois' chief strategy and operations officer, said of the partnership. "They had capacity without local demand, and we had the opposite."
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