Illinois revises abortion data collection to better protect patient privacy
ILLINOIS (KBSI) – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is changing how it reports data on abortions in Illinois.
To better protect woman who receive abortions and abortion providers the IDPH is simplifying the type of data it collects from healthcare providers and what data it shares with the public.
IDPH will be reporting the number of abortions provided to Illinois residents and out-of-state residents. It will no longer be reporting abortion numbers for Illinois counties (which were reported only for counties with more than 50 abortions) or by the specific state of out-of-state residents.
IDPH will also be reporting the age ranges of those who receive abortions, the gestational age and the numbers of procedural and medically induced abortions.
The changes are being implemented to ensure that the state is in compliance with recent amendments to Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act in 2019 and earlier this year that were designed to safeguard abortion rights in Illinois.
