you donât need to ask for jane anymore: a guide to coming to chicago for a safe, low-cost abortion
A lot of people in the US are super worried about the Supreme Court axing Roe v. Wade, but what they might not know is that some states have laws in place that will protect the right to reproductive choice and abortion if that happens. One of these states is the state of Illinois. In 2019, a law was passed that protects abortion rights within the state even if the federal right to an abortion falls. This means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will still be a protected right in Illinois. Even before Roe, Chicago was a haven for safe abortions- you just called and asked for Jane.
Now, safe abortion access is the law of the land in IL, and there are several groups who can help you. This post is long, but I think itâs worthwhile. Even if you donât read all the way through it, maybe save it for later. You or someone you know might need it. If you want to stop now, the TL;DR is this:
f youâre a minor and you canât tell your parents, get a waiver of notification from the IL Judicial Bypass program.
Schedule your appointment.
Contact abortion funds to get financial aid. Your home state might have s fund, and the Chicago Abortion Fund can help.
Secure housing for the procedure through the Midwest Access Coalition or by talking to the intake staff at the clinic of your choice.
Iâd like to start by saying that the closer to home you get your abortion, should you need one, the easier it will be for you⊠probably. It depends on your individual situation AND your safety. If I still lived in Indiana and I needed an abortion, Iâd probably leave to get it done, even though there are abortion providers in Indiana, because Indiana is super hostile and thereâs lots of clinic protestors- for example, when I was taking my GRE my senior year at Notre Dame, the testing center was in this little strip mall in Mishawaka next to Planned Parenthood. Despite the fact that the PP in Mishawaka does not provide abortions, there were protestors who yelled at me for going in there. I wasnât even going to PP. Iâd like to say that I said something devastatingly cool but I just ran in flustered. Point being: It really, really would have sucked if I was there for healthcare instead of a standardized test for graduate school. And thatâs a very tame, mild situation! Real abortion clinic protests are often much more devastating!Â
ANYWAYS. The less you have to travel, the easier things tend to be, if itâs safe to get an abortion where you are and if your state will have protected abortions if Roe is overturned. If youâre not sure what might happen in your state in that case, this map has a clear, succinct overview of the legal status of abortion in each state and all US territories. You will want to click through to that link, because this image isnât interactive.
[ID: a map of the US with states and territories sorted by their legal protections for abortion into four categories: expanded access in the case of Roe v. Wade being overturned, protected, not protected, and hostile. IL is highlighted.]
So letâs say you live in any of those red states. (Yellow and blue are safe- abortion access is protected there.) Letâs say, worst case scenario, Roe gets overturned and you get pregnant and you want to terminate. You will be able to do that in IL, and itâs relatively easy to do that in Chicago for a relatively low cost and with the benefit of a robust support network of people who want to reaffirm your reproductive choices.
First, if youâre a minor and you donât want to tell your parents because itâs not safe for you to do so, get a judicial waiver of parental notification. The IL ACLU has a judicial bypass hotline. This will come at no cost to you. Do this ASAP, because it takes time to get it set up! You can do this by calling the hotline at 877-442-9727, texting 312-560-6607, or emailing [email protected].
Next, you need to get an appointment set up. You could get a referral from someone local to you, but this can be tricky- 87% of counties in the US donât have an abortion provider, and google can lead you to a crisis pregnancy center. They will not help you. If you have a local Planned Parenthood, call them. Even if they donât provide abortions, they can refer you to someone who can. If youâre coming to Chicago, which this post⊠kind of assumes you are⊠you can call any of these groups to talk about your options and what clinics can help you. I recommend starting with FPA or PP; those are two actual clinics. MAC and CAF are funds- they can direct you but they canât schedule an appointment for you.
Family Planning Associates (FPA): 312-707-8988 or use their online schedule tool, found here: https://www.fpachicago.com/schedule-now/
Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF): Phone: 312-663-0338 (note: the helpline is only staffed MWF from 3:30-6:30 PM CST, or email [email protected]
Midwest Access Coalition (MAC): 847-750-6224 or email [email protected]
Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PP): 1-800-230-7526
You might want to shop around and see which clinic costs the least, and is the most practical for you to get to. FPA has a lot of patient resources, as does PP. Donât be afraid to ask for financial assistance. The people staffing those organizations have extensive networks and deep compassion for their patients- if the clinic canât help, they might know who can.
Once youâve made an appointment, nowâs the time to start gathering financial aid. Some insurance, including IL Medicaid, covers it. If yours does not, or if the copay is still too much, this is where abortion funds come into play. Many states have their own abortion funds for state residents, so you might have to look around to see who can help you. Iâd start with the National Network of Abortion Funds.
You also need to figure out transportation and housing while youâre in the city to get your abortion. This isnât super necessary if youâre just coming for the pill abortion, but if youâre coming for a d and c or other surgical procedure, you will be staying for a couple of days. THIS is why Iâm writing this up, because abortion funds typically only are able to help cover the financial cost of the procedure. Itâs expensive to stay somewhere and it can be absolutely terrifying if youâre on your own! Navigating while youâre in pain from the procedure can be an absolute devil of a time, too! However, Chicago has MAC (contact info above), which is a practical access fund, which means that they help pay for transportation to the city (bus tickets and train tickets) and around the city (volunteer drivers or volunteers who take rideshares with clients), food, aftercare medicine (painkillers, etc.), and housing, and thereâs also free access to emotional support staff throughout your stay. This is not just open to IL residents; itâs open to anyone coming to the city for an abortion. ALSO if you go through FPA, they have a partnership with the Hampton Inn a block away from their location where their patients get a discount. If you go that route, just talk to FPA about housing and theyâll hook you up. This can be super helpful if you need some evidence that youâre on a âbusiness tripâ or something like that- if you are in a position where you need an excuse for your safety, that might work well.
Hopefully you wonât need this post- but if you do, I hope it helps. Feel free to share it around. If you have anti-choice opinions and you feel the need to share, donât. This isnât the space for it; you will be blocked and your comments removed. And then remember that criminalizing abortion wonât stop abortion. Itâll just stop safe abortions. Also, increased access to abortion, funnily enough, tends to be the thing that lowers abortion rates, because increased access to abortion comes part and parcel with increased access to birth control and general health and sex education.
