New report: Illinois remains abortion ‘safe haven’ for out-of-state patients

A recent report from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute stated that Illinois remains one of the United States’ most prominent states for women traveling to obtain abortions across the Midwest and South.

Key Takeaways:

• According to a new Guttmacher report, out-of-state abortions taking place in Illinois declined in 2025 by 18.5% from 2023 (39,890 to 32,490), mainly due to the rise of telehealth abortion.

• Illinois was the destination for about 23% of the total number of women to cross states lines for abortions in 2025.

• Planned Parenthood of Illinois claimed that its facilities are handling many of the out-of-state in-person abortion visits.

The Details:

Illinois continues to be an "abortion haven" among Midwest states, with the new Guttmacher report revealing that thousands of women traveled there from out of state in 2025 to access abortions.

Hoodline Chicago reported:

According to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, roughly 142,000 people crossed state lines to obtain abortion care in 2025, and Illinois accounted for about 23% of that total with its 32,490 procedures. The same report notes that out-of-state abortions in Illinois declined from nearly 39,890 in 2023, a shift the institute links to the rise of telehealth services for people living in ban states.

This equates to an 18.5% decrease in out-of-state abortions, due to the Biden-era removal of abortion pill safeguards, removing the requirement for in-person visits to receive the abortion pill.

Guttmacher's report revealed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times:

• Illinois abortion businesses accounted for almost one in four abortions obtained by individuals traveling from other states, many of whom were motivated to seek abortion elsewhere owing to legal barriers in their home states.

• No other state equaled or surpassed Illinois in total numbers last year, as the state abortion providers carried out nearly twice as many abortions for out-of-state patients versus North Carolina, which came in second.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois claimed that its facilities are handling many of the out-of-state in-person abortion visits:

• Carbondale: around 90% of abortions were administered to patients arriving from Tennessee and Kentucky

• Waukegan: 46% of those seeking abortions traveled from Wisconsin

• Champaign: 48% came from neighboring Indiana, which has laws protective of preborn human beings

“They come from Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky and Iowa,” admitted Adrienne White-Faines, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “These are neighboring states that also tend to have some limitations and restrictions on abortion care.”

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“The abortion industry in Illinois is the wild west, which is clear by these numbers,” Mary Kate Zander, president and CEO of Illinois Right to Life told the Chicago Sun-Times. “When will Pritzker and the state of Illinois start providing real accountability on behalf of vulnerable women? It’s disgusting.”

It is unlikely that Governor Pritzker, who established his own 501(c)4 to promote pro-abortion constitutional state amendments across the country, will seek "real accountability" from the abortion industry — especially in a state with a pro-abortion Democratic supermajority.

Hoodline noted:

The numbers suggest that virtual care is easing, but not replacing, the stream of travelers.

Guttmacher’s full-year estimates show that travel for abortion care fell from about 154,000 people in 2024 to roughly 142,000 in 2025, while telehealth abortions provided to residents of ban states climbed to roughly 91,000.

Even so, the institute stresses that many patients still need to show up in person, especially those later in pregnancy or needing procedural care, which keeps certain states and clinics under intense pressure.

What's Happening:

The alarming trend of “abortion tourism,” in which women travel considerable distances for the procedure, reveals a failure to deal with the underlying needs of pregnant women, such as financial pressures, lack of support, or limited access to healthcare and resources that could enable them to carry their pregnancies to term.

Even in a state as hostile as Illinois, pro-life organizations have been trying to grow networks of pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and support services meant to offer practical assistance to women facing unplanned pregnancies.

These groups highlight that real compassion involves offering life-affirming solutions rather than facilitating abortion. The rising number of out-of-state abortions in Illinois demonstrates the importance of continued efforts to promote a culture of life, fortify support systems for mothers, and champion initiatives that safeguard the unborn at every stage of life. 

The Bottom Line:

Killing human beings is not a solution to any social problem. Governments and social service agencies must tackle the root causes that lead women to seek abortions, including economic hardship, lack of community support, and social pressures.