Nearly 10,000 women traveled from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020 — a 29% increase

CHICAGO — Nearly 10,000 women traveled from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, a roughly 29% increase compared with the previous year, according to the most recent Illinois Department of Public Health data available.

State health statistics show 9,686 out-of-state women terminated a pregnancy in Illinois in 2020, comprising about 21% of all 46,243 abortions performed statewide. This was over 2,000 more than the 7,534 women who came here from another state in 2019. State data from 2021 was not available.

The rise in travelers was anticipated by reproductive rights advocates and opponents of abortion alike, attributed largely to nearby states with increasingly stringent abortion laws, including those mandating waiting periods, gestational limits and more regulations on clinics.

Reproductive freedoms are increasingly under fire in much of the country, particularly many Midwestern states that surround Illinois