Midwest Pro-Life March Is A Window To The Post-Dobbs Abortion Battle Embroiling States

Pro-Life March Draws Hundreds to St. Louis Gateway Arch

Over the weekend, hundreds of pro-life advocates gathered under St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch to march for the rights of the unborn. Missouri, which borders Illinois, one of the most permissive abortion states in the country, effectively shut down its abortion industry in 2022, banning abortion just hours after the Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. However, pro-lifers continue to lobby at home and fight the passage of several referendums that could permit more abortions.

Speakers at the march called for justice for pregnant women and their unborn, highlighting the deadly effects of chemical abortions on women and their children. Abortion drugs are federally endorsed and becoming increasingly available, making chemical abortion the new frontier for the abortion industry. Students for Life national field director, Reagan Barklage, said, “Chemical abortion not only ends the lives of preborn children but it is extremely harmful to women. While all abortions are dangerous, chemical abortion is especially, as it is four times more dangerous than surgical abortion.”

According to Guttmacher Institute, 50% of America’s abortions are chemical, and 670 unborn children die daily by such methods. Barklage warned that this number will only continue to increase as the abortion industry wants to head in that direction.

Illinois’ Pro-Abortion Policies

Illinois supports the big business of abortion, providing a permissive and lenient atmosphere for abortion facilities and serving as a “destination location” for those looking to end the life of the unborn in neighboring states that have restricted or outlawed abortion. Adhering to the Reproductive Health Act, state law in Illinois requires private insurers to cover abortions, allows nonphysicians to administer chemical abortion drugs to women and minors, allows monetary “kickbacks” for abortions, removes the parental notice requirement for minors previously in law, and does not hold most abortion facilities to licensing and inspection regulations.

Scott Davis, a marcher and life advocate in Carbondale, Illinois, said, “Illinois is radically pro-abortion … and there are zero standards. No inspections, and legislators specifically passed a bill that would allow doctors who have lost their licenses in other states to come and do abortions here. Women’s health? No. This is not health care. It’s the abortion industry.”

Abortion Industry Expands After Dobbs

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization ruling, the small town of Carbondale fast-tracked funding the business of abortion. A year ago, no abortion facilities existed within city limits. Now there are two, with a third, large facility under construction. The town of around 22,000 now provides abortions daily. It’s been featured on the hit ABC show “Grey’s Anatomy” as an abortion “safe haven.”

Locals also contend with a radically pro-abortion city council. In January, the city council voted unanimously in