Pritzker, Illinois providers call for more nurses and doctors to perform abortions

Illinois will need more doctors and nurses to provide abortions as an expected surge of patients from other states arrive for the procedure, Gov. J.B. Pritkzer said during a campaign stop in East St. Louis.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected in coming weeks to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Illinois is one of the few states in the Midwest where officials have said they will preserve access to abortion.

Thousands of patients are likely to come to clinics in the Metro East if the high court throws out Roe v. Wade and leaves states to determine whether abortion will be legal, Pritzker said.

“Because of the retrograde policies of the Republican Party, of Republican legislatures and Republican governors, we do expect to see quite a number of women seeking to exercise their reproductive rights by coming to Illinois,” the governor said during the stop at the Ironworkers Local 392 union hall. “And it is certainly true that clinics throughout Illinois — and there are more than 90 — will need to staff up if they're going to be able to serve people who are coming from out of state.”