DANNY WICENTOWSKI
People who seek an abortion will have the opportunity to visit a mobile clinic in southern Illinois by the end of 2022.
One hundred days after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood announced on Monday that it will bring a mobile abortion clinic to the St. Louis area.
Set to open by the end of 2022, the 37-foot long by 8-foot wide RV will travel throughout southern Illinois, with “the full suite of services available at Planned Parenthood’s brick-and-mortar health center,” including two exam rooms, a lab and a waiting room, according to statement. It will offer consultations and abortion pills for women who are up to 11 weeks pregnant. Planned Parenthood anticipates adding surgical abortions a few months after opening.
— Planned Parenthood (@PPSLR) October 3, 2022The mobile clinic will serve as a response to the increase of patients at Planned Parenthood’s Fairview Heights, Illinois, health clinic — the organization's closest to St. Louis. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has caused a near 30 percent increase in patients at the Fairview Heights location, with wait times increasing from four days to two and a half weeks. The clinic expects nearly 14,000 patients per year, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Planned Parenthood also announced plans to open a health center in Rolla by the first week of November — its eighth in the state. It will replace Tri-Rivers Family Planning, providing “birth control, STI testing and treatment, annual exams, vasectomies, and gender-affirming care.”
