ROCKFORD, Ill. — One year after the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe versus Wade abortion care has changed in Wisconsin, a provider and an administrator who had both been in Wisconsin decided to cross the state line to open an abortion clinic to give people a legal option for care.
Meg Larkin’s life changed dramatically after the Dobbs decision. The now Rockford, Illinois resident had been retired and living in Wisconsin. The last time she worked in an abortion clinic was in 2013.
“I know that there is such a need that I just can’t imagine anything more important than raising my children and they are pretty raised,” said Larkin.
She moved back to Rockford and joined with with Dr. Dennis Christiansen, a doctor who had been running a Milwaukee abortion clinic. The two opened a facility right over the state line in Illinois called the Rockford Family Planning Center. Abortion is legal under Illinois law. The clinic in Rockford provides mainly pills for women who are up to 11 weeks pregnant and want to terminate their pregnancy.
Larkin says when they opened in January 2023 a majority of their patients came from Wisconsin. Now that has expanded.
“Wisconsin is about 40 percent of our daily people. Wisconsin and other states. Illinois has about 60 percent,” said Larkin.
The clinic’s nurse says along with Wisconsin, patients come from Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee and Louisiana. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, which used to provide abortion services, says since the Dobbs decision they have assisted more than 500 patients seek care out of state.
“When people call here they don’t call for entertainment. They call because they are desperate,” said Larkin. “This is such important work. It needs to be done.”
When it comes to how people feel about the Roe v. Wade decision being overturned by the Supreme Court, a new NBC News poll finds 36-percent of people agree with the Supreme Court’s decision and a majority, 61-percent disagree.
