Planned Parenthood is taking its services on the road, announcing plans on Monday to expand its outreach by opening its first mobile abortion clinic in Illinois, according to Axios.
Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June, abortion has been banned or restricted in 17 states, including in Missouri and Kentucky.
Located 20 miles from the Illinois-Missouri border, Planned Parenthood's Fairview Heights clinic in Illinois has seen the number of abortion patients spike by 30% since the high court delivered its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
The Fairview Heights clinic has also seen a 340% increase in the number of abortion patients traveling from states other than Illinois and Missouri.
A Planned Parenthood spokesperson told Axios that the clinic typically sees patients from Missouri, as well as from midwestern and southern states such as Tennessee, Kentucky and Texas.
While the company has previously had mobile health clinics that offered family planning services, this will be the first to perform abortions.
"One hundred days post-Roe we stand in defiance to say: We are not backing down," Yamelsie Rodriguez, president of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, said in a press release.
"Abortion bans, 'defunding' Planned Parenthood, and attacks on reproductive freedoms writ large are deeply unpopular," Rodriguez continued. "We're standing in the gap created by politicians and ensuring all people can access the health care they deserve, no matter where they live."
According to the release, the mobile clinic will be set up in an RV and will provide the full spectrum of Planned Parenthood services along the Illinois border.
The mobile clinic will also enable Planned Parenthood to free up space at the Fairview Heights clinic and cut wait times and travel distances for patients.
It will feature a waiting room, lab and two exam rooms and will initially offer only medication abortions up to 11 weeks. Planned Parenthood said it intends to expand its mobile services to include surgical abortions in the future.
The company spokesperson told Axios the mobile clinic will begin operation at the end of October or early November.
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