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Report: More Women Traveling to Illinois for Abortions

Recent figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health show that more women appear to be traveling from out of state to have an abortion despite the total number of terminated pregnancies decreasing statewide.

A December state report says more than 4,500 women crossed into Illinois to terminate a pregnancy in 2016. The report shows that's an increase from just over 3,200 abortions provided to out-of-state women in the previous year.

Overall, abortions in Illinois dropped from more than 39,800 in 2015 to fewer than 38,400 in 2016.

Both anti-abortion groups and abortion rights advocates speculate that tighter regulations in other Midwest states could be sending more women to Illinois. 

Illinois has been expanding abortion access, but many neighboring states are attempting to pass more restrictions.

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