Dupage Policy Journal

Naperville resident Gracia Livie took to Twitter to claim legislators are working on legislation that would pay for hotel rooms for out-of-state women seeking abortions.

 “Illinois taxpayers should not be paying for hotel rooms and travel expenses for out-of-state women seeking abortions in Illinois. Hearing this is a goal of the lame duck session this week. @jyangrohr @EllmanForIL," Livie said on Twitter.

She didn't list the source of her allegations.

Every year, thousands of women seeking abortions travel from states restricting abortion rights to Illinois. In 2020, about 10,000 out-of-state women traveled to Illinois for abortions, while more than 36,000 Illinois women received abortions. 

Livie called out state Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville) and State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville) specifically. 

According to  Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, which supported Ellman in the 2022 election, Ellman "is a strong supporter and advocate for sexual and reproductive health care. She has taken active steps to ensure Illinois remains a pro-choice haven in the Midwest,” the group wrote in its endorsement. 

“She is sponsoring legislation to protect providers that offer care to patients that cross state lines. With more and more states banning abortion, more and more patients are coming to Illinois to seek care. Those providers need to be protected from actions from anti-choice states that would seek to punish them.”

Yang Rohr previously said she is a big supporter of abortion rights. 

“I voted to make sure Illinois supports Roe v. Wade so that Illinoisans have access to the safe, legal reproductive health care they need,” Rohr wrote on Facebook as Roe v. Wade was being overturned.

Abortion clinics in Illinois have expanded their capacity in preparation for an increase in demand for abortions. Along the state's border with states controlled by Republicans, Planned Parenthood has opened a number of additional abortion clinics. Abortion advocates anticipate a five-fold increase in the number of abortions.

The number of women going to Illinois for abortions has been steadily increasing since 2014. The number of abortions conducted on non-residents in Illinois in 2019 was 7,534, up 150% over the previous five years, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.