skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

IL Clinics Prepare for More Patients if Roe v. Wade is Overturned

play audio
Play

Friday, December 4, 2020   

CHICAGO -- Reproductive health providers in Illinois are preparing for an influx of patients if the 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Ten states currently have abortion "trigger laws", meaning abortion bans or restrictions that are unenforceable now but designed to go into effect if constitutional precedent changes.

If trigger laws in surrounding sttes go into effect, said Brandi Collins-Calhoun, senior movement engagement associate for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, local Illinois abortion funds would be stretched thin with more out-of-state patients -- who also would have travel and lodging expenses as well as lost wages.

"We're seeing clinics require a two-week quarantine for out-of-state patients right now because of COVID," she said. "So with Illinois, they'll be well over their capacity of funding and support once the trigger laws go into effect."

She said the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy is preparing a resource toolkit to direct more philanthropic support to reproductive-rights funds in states such as Illinois, where policymakers have taken steps to protect access without relying on the Roe decision.

In 2017, Illinois lawmakers repealed a trigger law and passed a requirement for Medicaid to cover pregnancy termination. Last year, they passed the Reproductive Health Act, guaranteeing reproductive rights as fundamental rights.

Brigid Leahy, director of public policy for Planned Parenthood Illinois, said providers are figuring out how to coordinate with affiliates in neighboring states "so that patients can be referred, their medical records are following them, and that there's a transition and a continuity of care when they go back home."

Leahy said the goal is to make sure women in Illinois and elsewhere can connect with the financial and emotional support they need in these situations.

"The burden of restrictions always falls on the lower-income people, people of color," she said, "people who are marginalized and already have challenges to access to health care."

Leahy credited local abortion funds with helping anyone who needs access to reproductive care, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Disclosure: National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues, Immigrant Issues, Reproductive Health, Women's Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021