University of Illinois Chicago offers taxpayer-funded $5k stipend for abortion training

According to a report from Campus Reform, the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Nursing is accepting a new round of applicants for its abortion-related fellowship to receive a $5,000 stipend from the state of Illinois.

The fellowship exists to train emergency department staff to commit abortions and "address institutional changes" regarding abortion. The funding comes from the state's Health Department; in other words, taxpayers are footing the bill.

Key Takeaways:

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing is accepting applicants for its RADIANT ED Fellowship.
The fellowship provides training and mentorship for physicians, physician assistants, and Advanced Practice Clinicians working in state Emergency Departments in order to build "champions" of "reproductive care" who also work to expand abortion access.
Each participant will receive a $5,000 stipend, paid for by Illinois taxpayers through the Illinois Department of Public Health's Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program.

The Details:

The RADIANT (Reproductive Advocacy and Diversity in Advanced Nursing Training) Fellowship is a training program that provides two abortion related programs.

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The first is "focused on integrating abortion care into practice," and the second is focused on "advancing emergency department clinicians' skills" in committing abortions. It uses both online and in-person training for advanced practice clinicians (APCs) in state emergency departments.

"Each participant completing the program will receive a $5,000 stipend and travel support," states the website. That money is coming from taxpayers through the Illinois Department of Public Health's Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program.

According to the fellowship's website:

"RADIANT Emergency Department (ED) is a FREE, hybrid online/live training program with ED experts to identify and address institutional challenges and develop strategies to implement change while expanding their capacity to be first-line responders to conditions such as ectopic pregnancy, early pregnancy loss and improving their skills in obstetric care. RADIANT ED Fellows meet online with experts in emergency medicine and obstetrics/gynecology over an 11-week program, then meet in-person on the UIC campus for a two-day, live training event.
Both the RADIANT and RADIANT ED Fellowships are supported through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Abortion Provider Capacity Building Grant Program."

The fellowship appears to be focused on expanding access to abortion.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, ”When I said Illinois would be an oasis for women seeking reproductive care, I meant it."

UIC has partnered with several nonprofit organizations, like Access Bridge and FemInEM, as well as Carafem, an abortion business with a facility in Illinois that has a history of injuring women.

Zoom In:

According to the fellowship website, the goals of the RADIANT Fellowship are to:

1. Train Providers
Provide training and mentorship for APCs, Physicians and Physician Associates/Assistants in gender-affirming and trauma-informed abortion care.
2. Educate Students
Implementing a standardized abortion curriculum and clinical practice opportunities for APRN students at UIC’s College of Nursing. RADIANT alumni will be offered additional training to serve as preceptors and mentors to the next generation of advanced practice nurses providing abortion care.
3. Expand Access
Offer patient-centered early abortion care to patients through an APC-led abortion clinic at UI Health. This clinic will provide early abortion services and provide clinical training opportunities to RADIANT Fellows and other APCs.

The goals of the RADIANT ED Fellowship are to:

1. Train Providers
Provide training and mentorship for Physicians, Physician Associates/Assistants, and Advanced Practice Clinicians working in Illinois’ Emergency Departments to strengthen their skills in delivering essential reproductive care.
2. Develop as Clinical Champions
Radiant ED Fellows will work with our Emergency Department experts to identify and address institutional challenges related to reproductive health care delivery and develop strategies to implement change.

And all of this is paid for by Illinois taxpayers. The funding for the fellowships comes from the Illinois Department of Public Health, by way of a $2 million grant that was awarded among the UIC College of Nursing, the Midwest Access Project, and Planned Parenthood of Illinois to pay for abortion-related training. It is unclear how much of that funding was given to UIC.

The emergency department training includes weekly online meetings to teach clinical skills in "early pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy, emergency contraception, point-of-care ultrasound, abortion follow-up, perinatal substance use disorder, obstetric complications."

A two-day live training at a UIC simulation lab includes "immersive, hands-on skills training... to build clinical confidence in diagnosing and managing early pregnancy loss through high-fidelity ultrasound simulators, standardized patient scenarios, and complication case studies."

The fellowship claims to provide training for "reproductive health" such as "ectopic pregnancy, [and] early pregnancy loss," as well as helping to improve "skills in obstetric care." Yet, neither ectopic pregnancy care nor treatment for early pregnancy loss (miscarriage) is considered induced abortion, which always involves the intent to kill the preborn child or hasten the child's death.

Standard obstetrics care for ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage is not prohibited in any state.

The Bottom Line:

In 2024, nearly 25% of all out-of-state abortions were committed in Illinois, and about 35,000 women traveled from other states to Illinois for abortions.

To date, at least 60 clinicians have gone through the training, which is now in its third year. Doctors and nurses who work at Illinois emergency departments are currently eligible to apply for the ED fellowship for spring 2027.

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