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Planned Parenthood will open a huge, secretly built “mega clinic” in Ilinois near the Missouri border as lawmakers push for an abortion ban in the Show Me State, according to reports Wednesday.
The women’s health provider built the sprawling center in Fairview Heights using a shell company to avoid attention and protests, according to CBS.
The center, which will provide abortion and other reproductive services, is 13 miles from Missouri’s only legal abortion clinic, which may soon be shuttered, according to the station.
“While we continue the fight to maintain access in Missouri, we are excited to expand our abortion services in Illinois,” said Colleen McNicholas, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood’s southwest regional chapter.
“The new health center is a testament to the needs of the greater bi-state region and our commitment to provide, protect and expand access to healthcare, no matter what.”
Construction on the massive clinic — which at 18,000 square feet is bigger than many grocery stores — began in secret in August 2018, according to the station.
Missouri is one of 12 states that have passed laws restricting abortion access, some of which targeted the US Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
In May, state officials refused to renew the state’s only abortion clinic, in St. Louis, citing its failure to meet state health department standards. But a federal judge has allowed it to stay open pending the decision of a state arbiter.
Across the state line in Illinois, lawmakers have moved to protect abortion rights.
With Post wires
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