Trump Effect? Cash-Strapped Illinois Is Becoming an Abortion Haven

Meryl Woo Rice, right, takes part in an abortion rights protest near the Capitol on the opening day of the second session of the 109th General Assembly, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Long before President Trump was inaugurated, there was an outcry from feminist and pro-abort circles as to the future of so-called “abortion rights” in the country. With a Republican-controlled White House and Congress, reproductive rights were certain to be addressed.

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On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump did much to hurt the pro-life movement by insisting – among other things – that women who have abortions should be punished. This was later retracted, but the damage was done. Mere days after being sworn in as the 45th president, Donald Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy. This keeps the U.S. from funding abortion overseas.

Though no significant pro-life legislation seems to be headed to President Trump’s desk in the near future, enough Americans believe that now – more than ever – there is a war on women and those so-called “abortion rights.”

A great, and terrible, example of that effect is taking place in the near-bankrupt liberal “utopia” of Illinois.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

While the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade has guaranteed the right to an abortion since 1973, lawmakers and courts across the country continue to tussle over the boundaries of that reproductive freedom. That has created pockets of access in places like Illinois amid what has been termed the U.S. abortion desert of the South and Midwest.

One Chicago clinic — citing an uptick in patients from other Midwest states — offers on its website a discounted rate at a hotel about a block away.

Reproductive rights have risen to the forefront of national debate since the contentious fall presidential election.

Nationwide, recent moves to restrict reproductive rights have sparked a series of protests inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” with activists in Missouri, Ohio, Texas and other states donning red cloaks and white bonnets in the image of characters from the 1985 dystopian novel and recent Hulu series.

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The piece, heartbreaking in its entirety, continues on to tell the stories of several women, all who have traveled to Illinois from elsewhere for the purpose of seeking an abortion.

Illinois requires that minors notify a parent, grandparent, stepparent who lives in the home, or legal guardian before having an abortion, though the law does not mandate parental permission as is the case in some states. If a young woman doesn’t want a parent or other family member to find out, she has the legal right to request a waiver of parental notice. This process is known as judicial bypass…

Regardless of the age of the woman, Ohio law also mandates in-person counseling followed by a 24-hour waiting period.

“Illinois was the closest place to me that had really any hope of a judicial bypass,” she said. “So that was my last resort.”

“More than anything, I wanted to go to college and get a degree, do something I’m passionate about and have a job,” she said. “I feel like the people who helped me get through that, even though they were complete strangers, they gave me a rebirth. A second life.”

To women seeking to terminate the life of their growing child, Illinois is becoming the destination for them. Beginning a self-described “second life” for the woman means an end to another, separate life. That of the once-growing, but now discarded, baby.

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I don’t believe President Trump is a very pro-life individual personally or politically. Statements in his adult life have ranged from full-blown support for abortion to believing it to be wrong. I don’t know where his heart truly rests on the subject, but it is clear – at least to me – that pro-life issues in his administration have been left on the backburner.

That being said, the only true way to change our decidedly pro-death culture to a pro-life one is from the ground up. Change first takes place in local communities where women who are pregnant and desperate get the help and hope that they need. They can choose life for themselves and their babies.

Currently, there has been an increase in hysterics from the pro-abort community because of the new administration. This is misplaced for two reasons:

  1. Abortion and contraception are still readily available, as they have been for a long while.
  2. Pro-life issues do not seem to be much of a priority to the president.

From my perspective, the marchers in p***y hats and those charming “nasty woman” t-shirts are overreacting. There is no danger to their precious “right” as of right now. However, they believe it to be the case.

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Unfortunately, the most important player in this scenario, the unborn child, is being overlooked. While protests rage on for “rights” which women do not lack, the number of aborted dead increases in places like Illinois.

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