Illinois Governor Pritzker, Attorney General Raoul, abortion fund, providers, and advocates share potential impact of a lawsuit by the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama
CHICAGO, IL – October 1, 2026 – Yesterday, the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama filed two lawsuits attacking shield law provision of medication abortion. One suit specifically targets shield laws in New York, California, and Massachusetts that protect providers sending medication abortion across state lines into ban states. The second suit specifically targets 30 abortion providers, organizations, and pharmacies to extract information about people accessing abortion care – and asks a federal court to block them from providing care.
According to the Guttmacher Institute’s analysis of 2025 abortion provision trends:
Travel across state lines to obtain abortion care decreased by 7.8%. This decrease was largely concentrated among residents of states with total abortion bans, while shield law telehealth provision in those states increased by 26.4%.
Even with shield law protections of medication abortion provision in place, Illinois continues to receive the highest number of out-of-state abortion patients in the country (32,000) – with a volume that is nearly double the number provided in the second-highest state, North Carolina.
Over 142,000 people crossed state lines for an abortion in 2025, and nearly 1 in 4 abortions for those who traveled across state lines took place in Illinois.
This proportion of out-of-state travel to Illinois mirrors Guttmacher’s 2024 data, where an accompanying policy analysis highlighted the Chicago Abortion Fund’s work navigating people facing barriers to care as part of the conditions that have allowed Illinois to remain a key access point for both Illinoisans and those across the South and Midwest.
Should shield law providers lose their protections in New York, California, and Massachusetts, the abortion access ecosystem in Illinois would likely experience a surge in travel, and a surge in support needed by abortion seekers now forced to cross state lines.
Statement from Megan Jeyifo, Chicago Abortion Fund Executive Director:
“Illinois is carrying a staggering share of the national abortion access crisis. Nearly one in four people who crossed state lines for an abortion came to Illinois last year — and CAF helped make care possible for 43% of them by offering financial and logistical support. Every day, our case managers see what abortion bans force people to endure: hundreds of miles of travel, missed work and income, last minute childcare needs, and thousands of dollars in medical and travel costs just to get basic health care.
But not everyone can travel. Shield laws have created a critical pathway to abortion for people living in states that have banned care. This attack is an attempt to reach across state lines and close that pathway too. People living in states with abortion bans are not synonymous with the politicians who enacted them. They deserve options, autonomy, and access to care.
Statement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker:
“Illinois passed its shield law to protect medical providers and patients. As extremists continue their attacks on reproductive freedom, Illinois remains steadfast in defending every individual's privacy and autonomy. The message is clear in our state: Illinois trusts women to make their own medical decisions and we will continue to defend their right to do so.”
Statement from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul:
“Illinois is proud to be a reproductive healthcare oasis in the middle of the country. Shield laws are a critical tool in ensuring that our medical professionals can continue to provide lawful healthcare and patients can access that healthcare no matter where they reside. I am firmly committed to continue defending the right of all patients to receive essential abortion care and stand with my fellow attorneys general in defending our states’ authority to protect access to abortion care and the people who make that care possible.”
Statement from Sarah Garza Resnick, CEO of Personal PAC:
“This lawsuit is a blatant extension of political attacks on mifepristone at the federal level. It is an attempt to block people from accessing safe, proven medication abortion care. This political crisis threatens access to care for millions of women and is intended to intimate the brave people providing health care to patients every day.”
Statement from Dr. Allison Cowett, Chief Medical and Advocacy Officer at Family Planning Associates (FPA) Medical Group:
“Since Dobbs, one out of every three women coming to FPA for abortion care travels to Illinois from out of state. Together with our partner clinics, abortion funds, advocacy groups and elected officials, we are caring for people from across the country exercising their right to bodily autonomy. For those who cannot travel, the abortion care they obtain remotely is a lifeline, and shield laws are essential to this care. We stand with our colleagues in California, Massachusetts and New York, and will never back down in the fight to return reproduction freedom to every state in the country.”
Statement from Melissa Grant, Chief Operating Officer at carafem:
“Every day at carafem, we care for patients who have crossed state lines because abortion care is unavailable where they live. The cost goes far beyond the appointment: missed wages, childcare, travel, and time away from home. For many, those barriers are impossible to overcome.
Attacking shield laws could deepen those barriers and put more pressure on Illinois providers and abortion funds. Seeking abortion care should never mean risking your privacy or having to leave your community. carafem stands with our partners to defend patients’ access to care and their right to make their own decisions.”
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The Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF) is the largest abortion fund in the country. For 40 years, we've been breaking down barriers to abortion care in Chicago, the Midwest, and beyond. CAF offers support for people seeking abortion care in Illinois including, procedure funding, travel and related needs like childcare, emotional support and logistical expertise. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade CAF has received support requests from over 65,000 people in 45 states and pushed out over $25 million in direct assistance and wrap-around support. In 2025 alone, CAF fielded nearly 20,000 support requests and spent over $10 million on appointment and travel costs.
The Illinois Abortion Access Collaborative, convened by the Chicago Abortion Fund, brings together a coalition of leaders in the Illinois abortion landscape – independent clinics, providers, advocates, and abortion funds. We work to strengthen the existing access ecosystem in Illinois, amplify the realities of people seeking care, push for investments that benefit the entire abortion access ecosystem, and coordinate statewide strategy that drives policy priorities and culture shift around abortion care.