Illinois Abortions a Travesty; Deaths and Injuries Hidden, Numbers Underreported

Illinois reports a shockingly-high number of abortions each year — 46,077 reported in 2009. But an investigation by the Chicago Tribune uncovered how misleading those numbers are as the deaths of six women from botched abortions and 4,000 injuries to women were somehow missed in Health Department reports.

The Tribune found:

• State regulators have documented between 7,000 and 17,000 fewer abortions a year than a national research group found in Illinois.
• This reporting is the only tool Illinois authorities have to monitor some abortion providers, yet regulators may be allowing doctors and clinics to operate off the books. Regulators collect reports from 26 providers, but the abortion rights research group has identified 37 providers doing business in the state.

• Also unknown to officials are the types of abortion-related problems experienced by women. Nearly 4,000 reports of abortion complications involving Illinois residents in 2009 were missing the required description.
• Health care providers who intentionally fail to submit accurate and complete reports are committing a criminal act, and a failure to report abortion complications is grounds for revoking their licenses, but the Department of Public Health has never sought disciplinary action against a provider.

This story conjures up the lurid details of the late-term abortionist in Philadelphia who was allowed to perform abortions in filthy, unsafe conditions with no investigations by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for decades. Sounds like the Illinois Department of Health also operates under a “see no evil, hear no evil” philosophy. So much for protection of women and “safe, legal” abortions. It is a travesty.

Read the Chicago Tribune article here.

Barbara Lyons