CHICAGO — One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Illinois health care providers are treating more abortion patients than ever before.
And big summer events in Chicago are pushing care providers’ budgets to their max.
Last week, Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis and Southwest Missouri Region reported a 700 percent increase in abortion patients traveling to their Illinois clinic from outside of the bi-state region of Missouri and Illinois for care.
The Chicago Abortion Fund has been covering people’s travel costs and hotel stays as they trek to the city to receive abortions, which have been outlawed or restricted in neighboring states since the Supreme Court decision.
Of all the obstacles now in place for people seeking abortions, the latest one was less expected: Taylor Swift and NASCAR.
These big events have made Downtown hotel prices soar by hundreds of dollars, depleting the organization’s budget more quickly than in past years, said Megan Jeyifo, executive director at Chicago Abortion Fund.
Because of the “extreme increases” in hotel costs, organizers had to send some people to other states to seek care, she said.
“These costs cut into what we might be able to do for someone else,” Jeyifo said. “It feels like it’s going to be a very long and expensive summer.”
When Taylor Swift performed at Soldier Field June 2-4, the average night’s stay at a hotel Downtown went from about $200 to $800, Jeyifo said. This weekend’s upcoming NASCAR race has also increased hotel prices, but not to the same extent, Jeyifo said.
The increasing costs are worse than the organization has seen in past summers, with the sheer number of events, inflation and boom in tourism following pandemic lockdowns “all coming together to create this issue,” Jeyifo said.
“It’s great we have all these large events coming to our city, but we need to consider all of the impacts they have,” Jeyifo said. “Chicago is a hub for people seeking essential, highly politicized health care and it’s our responsibility to make sure that we’re accessible for people traveling here.”
To mitigate these costs, organizers are trying to book hotel stays well in advance of major events. For example, hotel prices haven’t surged yet for Beyonce’s performances at Soldier Field July 22-23, so organizers hope to book rooms before the costs increase, Jeyifo said.
They also plan to speak with the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association about securing hotel rooms at a fixed rate, Jeyifo said. The hospitality group did not respond to Block Club’s requests for comment.
Vanessa Borjon was a case manager for the Chicago Abortion Fund when hotel prices increased due to Swift’s performances in early June.
“We didn’t turn anybody away, we just had to get creative in finding people places to stay,” Borjon said. “That meant we had to find hotels between 45 minutes and an hour away from clinics, which we try to avoid doing because people can be in a lot of discomfort after their appointments, so we try to keep the car ride short for them. It was frustrating because we try to keep our callers as comfortable as possible.”
Borjon said the summer is usually “chaotic” when it comes to booking hotels and flights, since more people are traveling, but she had “never seen something like that.”
“We do anticipate these things happening, so we try to plan in advance and we’ve continued booking hotels regardless of the price,” Borjon said. “We also try to leave wiggle room for other disruptions in travel.”
People have always come to Chicago to get abortions, but the decision to overturn Roe has “exacerbated” that, causing an “explosion” of travelers seeking health care, Jeyifo said.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois reported a 54 percent increase in abortion patients since last June when Roe v. Wade was overturned. About 25 percent of these patients traveled from other states in search of care, when before, only 7 percent of patients came from other states, according to Planned Parenthood’s report.
The number of people who need financial assistance with the procedure or travel costs has doubled, according to Planned Parenthood. The average amount of money people need has increased from $250 to almost $500, since many are now forced to travel farther for care — and take more time off work, according to the report.
To learn more about the Chicago Abortion Fund’s work and support their efforts, visit their website.
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