Planned Parenthood to Launch First Mobile Abortion Clinic in Southern Illinois
With a growing number of patients in states that now prohibit abortion traveling for the procedure, Planned Parenthood says it will soon open its first mobile abortion clinic in the country, in southern Illinois. "Our goal is to reduce the hundreds of miles that people are having to travel now in order to access care...and meet them where they are," said Yamelsie Rodriguez, President of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. The mobile clinic will begin offering consultations and dispensing abortion pills later this year.
Strategic Location and Impact on Access
The facility will operate within Illinois, where abortion remains legal, but will be able to travel closer to neighboring states' borders, reducing the distance many patients travel for the procedure. Illinois has become a hub for people from other parts of the Midwest and South who've become unable to get abortions in their home states as a result of this summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood opened the Fairview Heights Health Center in 2019, anticipating a surge in patients from across the region, and that surge is quickly materializing. The organization says between June, when the Dobbs decision was issued, and August, it saw nearly a four-fold increase in patients coming from outside Missouri or Illinois. The Fairview Heights clinic is projected to receive about 14,000 patients traveling from across the region each year, an increase that "is materializing much, much faster than we anticipated," Rodriguez said.
Mobile Clinic Facilities and Protocols
The mobile facility – set up inside of an RV – will include a small waiting area, laboratory, and two exam rooms. It initially will provide medication abortion up to 11 weeks gestation, and officials said it eventually will offer surgical abortions, likely beginning sometime next year.
Patients seeing healthcare providers at the mobile clinic will follow the same protocol as those visiting a permanent Planned Parenthood facility. They take mifepristone - the first in a two-drug protocol approved by the Food and Drug Administration - on-site. They're offered counseling about the other drug, misoprostol, which is taken later. "The only thing that will change is the fact that now they might only have to drive five hours instead of nine hours," said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood in the region.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Facility Type | Mobile unit set up inside of an RV |
| Current Services | Medication abortion up to 11 weeks gestation |
| Future Services | Surgical abortions (likely starting next year) |
| Equipment | Waiting area, laboratory, and two exam rooms |
Operations and Safety Measures
One of the first tasks will be to determine the best routes for the mobile clinic. The organization is reviewing data to determine where patients are coming from and looking at healthcare facilities, churches, and other locations as potential stopping-off points. Another important consideration will be safety and security for patients and staff, McNicholas said. If the mobile clinic concept succeeds, it could be part of a larger strategy to find new ways to reach patients seeking abortions post-Roe. Rodriguez noted, "We are all trying to work together to meet the exponential increase in the number of patients that are traveling from banned states to what we're calling 'haven states' for abortion care."